As The Water Rises
by Jesse J Maximoff
Summary: Sequel to 'Tsunami'. Two years after the defeat of Apocalypse, new threats arise that can put all mutants of Bayville in unspeakable danger. Can the X-Men stop them? Meanwhile, Semina OC finds herself torn between her boyfriend and the man she loves. R&R
1. Prologue

A/N: Yeah, I'm back! This story takes place two years after Tsunami. The story will be centered around the Mutant Registration Act in Bayville and the formation of anti-mutant groups. I'm looking for a beta reader to help me out but I haven't found anyone yet. If anyone could refer me to one that would be great. Or people like Crimson Cruelty and Scarlet Magpie can help me out by PMing me some more writing tips and pointers.

I wanna take this time to apologize for my immature behavior when I wrote Tsunami. True, Semina is a blatant Mary-Sue but I'm slowly trying to turn down the Mary-Sueism. But I know _everyone_ has had their share of Mary-sue and Gary-Stu OC's. I was a newbie, it was my first story and I was defensive about it which lead me to piss off quite a few people who were just trying to help me. The criticism was seen as flames in my eyes and I acted like a total bitch. So, sorry. Review this story how you want and I'll try to make sure I act like mature person and ask for opinions and help when necessary. But at least give my stories a chance. They _are_ here for your entertainment and enjoyment.

I want to run the ages by you guys first. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone:

Remy, Piotr, St. John: 22

Scott, Jean, Anthony, Lance, Warren, Betsy: 21

Semina, LaToya, Pietro, Wanda, Rogue, Kurt, Alex, Tabby, Fred: 20

Kitty, Laura, Evan, Todd: 19

Bobby, Amara, Ray, Sam, Jubilee, Roberto: 18

Rahne, Lorna: 17

Jamie: 16

Couples are either obvious or you'll see them later on on the story.

With that being said, ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Try as I might, I _STILL_ don't own X-Men Evolution, so don't sue me!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Prologue

_A blinding white light shone down on me, making me squint. The room smelled of disinfectant and bleach that tried, but to no avail, to mask the stench of blood. Four walls cold and metal surrounded me. No doors to escape, no way out. Save the control panel full of people above me, the room was relatively bare. A harsh voice crackled through an unseen speaker._

"_Full name?" _

_I chose to remain silent and didn't answer the question. An arduous shock flowed through me, courtesy of the sleek black collar around my neck, bringing me to my knees._

"_Full name?" the unknown voice repeated._

"_Semina Erica Wilson," I growled._

"_City of residence?"_

"_Bayville, New York," I answered, deciding cooperation was necessary._

"_Power?"_

_My face twisted into a peculiar look. "Telepathy and hydrokinesis." _

"_Beginning scan," the voice stated before fizzling out._

_A green beam shot from the control room and enveloped my entire body. _

"_Scan completed. Power level determined."_

_'Power level?' I thought, a curious look on my face._

"_Analysis: class four mutant."_

_'Class four?' I mentally smirked, despite the place I was in. 'Impressive if I do say so myself. They'll have no choice but to release me now that they know how powerful I am.'_

"_Action: Terminate."_

"_What?" I shouted in alarm._

_One of the walls of the door opened and three high-tech looking Sentinels marched in. I desperately clawed at the collar trying my best to pry it off. I dd so but to no avail only succeeding in scratching my neck to the point where tiny droplets of blood dripped from the scratch marks. With the collar around my neck suppressing my powers, there was nothing I could do as the Sentinels each raised a hand to take aim at me. Their cannons charged up and with an incandescent yellow light surrounding the barrel, they fired. _

I snapped awake dripping in sweat and furiously panting. No screaming came from my mouth, just silence from sickening apprehension. I warily touched my face and body to make sure I was really alive...I was. My eyes glimpsed at the clock that read four A.M. I exhaled a shaky breath and stuck my legs out of from under the now sweat soaked sheets. I tried my best to walk a straight line to the bathroom but every step was wobbly and unbalanced. Finally reaching the bathroom, I gripped the sides of the sink and stared into the mirror. My cocoa brown skin had paled to a soft sandy color from fear. My eyes were enlarged and constantly shifting in paranoia but also lined with undeniable fright. My hair was matted to my skin and was sticking in all directions from frantically tossing and turning in bed. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to even out my breaths and slow my increased heart rate.

"There goes sleep," I muddled to myself, annoyed that the nightmare happened again. "Might as well train while I'm up."

Throwing my dampened nightgown into the hamper and pulling on sweats and a T-Shirt, I quietly exited my room and tip toed downstairs. Before I even reached the elevator to the sub levels a gruff but comforting voice sounded from behind me.

"Another nightmare?" Logan asked. No one really knows when Logan sleeps. It's one of those mysteries we have yet to figure out about him. I nodded to answer his question. "Do ya wanna talk about it?"

"You know I never do."

A painfully awkward silence passed.

"Y'know training won't make 'em stop."

I turned my back to him and toward the shiny elevator doors. "No, but it makes me feel better," I replied as I hit the down button with my fist. I turned my head toward him. "Ya coming or not?"

"I won't go easy on ya this time," he gruffly said, resisting the urge to allow his lips to curl into a small smile.

I managed to let a tiny chuckle escape my throat. "You never do, dad."

A/N: I know it was short but it _is_ just the prologue. Reviews on what you thought about what I've got so far is just a click away! Next chapter should be up soon once I find my writing muse.


	2. A Fresh Start

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men Evolution okay! Jeez! Stop trying to sue me, Marvel! All I own is Semina and a very chic black acoustic guitar.

A/N: Sorry for the very long time I've taken to update. School is starting in like two weeks so I'm gonna be busy shopping for clothes and supplies. I've been starved for ideas and inspirations so I'll update when I'm able to. Oh and Blissful Spirit your review made me tear up a little. So nice and I love you for that!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

A Fresh Start

Hours of one on one training with Logan passed before we headed upstairs for breakfast. Students, both new and old, ran around and chatted with each other as everyone filed into the dining room and kitchen. There were so may new students in the mansion now that it was always loud and crowded. We had tons of teenagers, some tweens and even a couple of kids who got their powers early! If I thought the mansion was full before I now stand unhappily corrected. Maneuvering through the sea of kids arguing over a cereal box prize, I grabbed a mug of coffee off the counter and sat down in my usual spot between Kurt and Kitty.

I took a much needed sip of the warm, brown liquid before addressing them. "Good morning."

They each replied in their usual cheery manner and continued on with breakfast. A pair of hands covered my eyes from behind me and asked "Guess who?" The smooth, masculine voice made my stomach do a flip and spread happiness through my body.

"This is always a fun game to play with a telepath," I giggled. "Hmm, I'm gonna guess my super cute mutant boyfriend."

"Right as always," he replied as he bent down to kiss me 'good morning'.

It's been two years. Two long, indescribable years since we saved the world from Apocalypse, since Mayor Kelly was elected, and since I ended things with Pietro. But hey, life went on. Not easily I might add. But I had my boyfriend to help me through the hard times.

"Enough with the PDA," Scott chastised playfully. "Grab a seat for breakfast." He, along with the rest of the X-Men had barely changed over the years. Though Scott _has_ loosened up considerably, thanks to Jean.

Alex chuckled lightly. "Whatever you say, bro." Alex had grown more mature, more muscles and in my opinion more handsome. Not to mention that he's stolen my heart. He's like my knight in a glistening wet suit.

"Vhere vere you zhis morning?" Kurt asked me. Same old considerate and sweet Kurt. Only difference with him is that his blue hair was slightly longer and he was much more muscular than he was in high school. "I vent to vake you up but you vere already gone."

"I was training with Logan."

"All this training with Logan will probably make you as good as Laura," Rogue joked as she walked into the kitchen. Rogue decided to stop cutting her hair and now her auburn and white striped hair fell past her shoulders. She's grown out of wearing layer after layer of that goth makeup too so we could actually see her face and it's really pretty.

"I will _never_ be as good as Laura," I laughed, despite the noticeable envy in my voice.

X-23 had showed up on our doorstep a couple of weeks after Apocalypse's defeat. Without Madame Hydra trying to capture her, she had no where else to go...so she came here. Logan is technically her dad, I mean they do have the same DNA and everything, so I'm actually really jealous of her. For more than that reason too. Not only is she a better trained combatant than me but she's beaten _all_ my records in the Danger Room. Don't think that I hate her because I don't. Everyone is jealous of someone at one point in their lives.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer. He let out a disappointed sigh as he moved his blonde bangs out of his eyes with his index finger. "Why don't you ever come to talk about them with me."

Ducking my head down, I stared into the cup of coffee in my hands at my reflection which was murky and wavy before sighing."They're not worth talking about." The actual reason is that there was only one person I ever described my nightmares to. The guy I'm bonded to for life. Telling them to anyone else would be weird. Like I was betraying that jerk that I once loved so.

You're probably wondering about my nightmare so I think a little explanation is in order. About two months ago, Mayor Kelly managed to pass a Mutant Registration Act on the entire city of Bayville. Every mutant living here was expected to go turn in their information to Mayor Kelly's keepers of peace, the Mutant Response Division or the MRD for short. There was only one facility but that was enough to get the point across to the mutants. If you stepped out of line, you were "taken into custody and detained". Sounds like simple procedure but to us it was more like "captured and caged". The professor has been able to keep all of the X-Men from registering but as for the Brotherhood, I don't know how they keep managing to fly under the MRD radar.

Anyway, the nightmares started around the time I saw a news report about the progress of the registration. Mutants were kept in a tight line that lead way past the doors of the facility and the humans were oblivious to the looks on their faces. The looks of dismay and uneasy feelings that were heavily etched on each face of man, woman and child there. Chills ran up my spine every time those looks crossed my mind. My nightmare has been happening ever since. The same one every...single...night.

Fingers snapping in front of my face brought me back to breakfast. "Semina? You zoned out again."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said shaking my head as if to clear the thoughts away. "Couldn't help it. What were you guys talking about again?"

"While you were...wherever you were, we were talking about who we think is gonna get promoted to official X-Man," Kitty gushed. Kitty had grown a couple of inches taller and started wearing her hair down instead of in a ponytail, except when we were on missions of course.

"Definitely X-23," Kurt said. "No doubt."

"I think it's gonna be that girl Lorna," Rogue voiced. "Did you _see_ what she did in the Danger Room the first day she got here?"

"I know it's gonna be Alex," I proudly stated. "My baby has skills."

"Is that all?" Alex asked, hints of joking on his face. "What about my personality or looks or athleticism?"

"You're all that and more," I smiled, intertwining his fingers in mine. My smaller hand fitting perfectly in his large hand. "You're a shoo-in for official X-Man."

Jean, who by the way looked just as perfect and gorgeous as she had in high school, added her thoughts into the discussion. "I wonder what team the new X-Man will be placed on."

After the Apocalypse battle, the professor made a decision that shocked everyone. He promoted the entire team of New Mutants up to X-Men. This lead him to split us into sub divisions. There was Team Alpha that consisted of the original X-Men team: Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Anthony, Bobby and I led by Scott. Team Beta led by LaToya and had the old New Mutants: Amara, Roberto, Sam, Jamie,Tabby, Ray, even Rahne and Jubilee once their parents let them come back. All the new students we got over the past two years were placed in the new New Mutant team that included Alex, Warren and Laura. Despite the subsequent control over their powers they were still in need of training. The teams weren't split based on power but on how well we worked together as a team.

"As long as I get on the team and off the New Mutants, I'll be stellar," Alex laughed. "Though I hope it's a spot on the team with my big bro and girlfriend." He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my temple.

My cheeks glowed red as Scott smiled with brotherly confidence. It was kinda weird dating Scott's younger brother at first because of the...'issues' I had with Scott in the past but once you get past the whole responsible leader thing, Scott really isn't _that_ bad. Alex and I have been dating for about a year now. Even after we beat Apocalypse, Alex still declined joining us at the institute because he wanted to go professional with his surfing. It was really taking off but then he started to have a couple of problems with his powers so he had no choice but to come and stay with us. Somewhere between overseeing his training and hanging out as friends, we just clicked and got together.

The professor wheeled in with Ororo and Logan closely following. His face was anything but happy on this fine Sunday morning. "Team Alpha. Come with me, there's something urgent that I must discuss with you."

Rather than ask questions now, we hastily deserted our breakfast and followed him into the planning room.

"What's going on, professor?" Scott asked, immediately jumping into leader mode.

"Sometime early this morning, the Morlocks were attacked," Professor X epitomized. "There were several causalities and many of them were captured, Evan included."

No wonder why Ororo didn't look her normal and peaceful self. She looked a little fidgety and was constantly running her fingers through her long white hair. I could've sworn I saw Logan flash her a look of genuine concern but when I blinked it was gone.

"Attacked by who?" Jean inquired.

"From the looks of it, mutants hunters," Logan replied, his voice thick with fury. "These people are ruthless and prey on mutants too weak to defend themselves."

"Where are they then?" I asked, pressing for more information. "You _do_ know exactly where they were taken, right?"

The professor's grimace grew more sorrowful. "Unfortunately no. I tracked Evan as far as I could but then nothing. It's as if something is blocking cerebro from picking up mutant signatures in his location."

"We'll be suited up and ready to leave in five," Scott declared as he rose from his seat. Following suit we sprang up from the table and followed our leader.

* * *

><p>We boarded the Blackbird and flew off to the coordinates the professor got just before cerebro was blocked. Cyclops landed the jet in front of a forest that most likely shrouded the base of the mutants hunters. Just thinking out people capturing mutants to torture and experiment on them made my blood boil.<p>

"I'm not getting anything," Jean announced with her fingers to her temples. Jean's telepathy had managed to catch up and _pass_ my own which surprised me to no end. Either I'm getting lazy or I've finally been out classed. "What about you, Tsunami?"

"Nothing. Professor X was right, we are being blocked. Best bet we have is sniffing them out."

Wolverine growled at me for putting him on the spot but sniffed the air nonetheless. He must've picked up some type of scent because he started to lead us into the forest. Trying our best to keep the element of surprise by keeping as quiet as possible, we tread lightly but the brittle leaves still crunched below our feet. Wolverine kept leading us further into the woods but I stopped when I felt something crawling on my bare shoulder. I reluctantly looked at it and pinched my lips together. There was a very large and very furry spider perched on my shoulder. Did I forget to mention that I'm terrified of spiders? There were never any spiders in the mansion because it was always so clean so I never freaked out like I was five seconds away from doing.

'Don't freak out. This is a mission.' I silently chanted. The spider began to crawl toward my neck and that's when I went crazy. Against my will, I let out a piercing scream that echoed through the forest in all directions. I swatted my shoulder while running around and shrieking "Get t off! Get it off!"

"Well there goes the element of surprise," Storm groaned. The X-Men nodded their heads in agreement and watched as their teammate ran around hitting her shoulder. A collective sigh was heard mixed with stifled chuckles most likely coming from Stone.

I rapidly whacked my shoulder...long after the spider was forced off my body and was still screaming my head off when my back hit something that repelled me face first into the ground. Getting a mouthful of leaves and dirt made my forget all about the pesky arachnid. Spitting out the disgusting substances to the ground I pulled myself up and turned around. There was nothing there but more trees.

"Thanks for letting everyone know that we're here," Cyclops sarcastically but angrily quipped. "Way to keep it covert."

I mumbled an embarrassed "Sorry" before perking up a bit. "But look what I found. Try walking past me." I swept my arms to the side pointing him in the right direction.

Cyclops skeptically obeyed and was thrown back just as I was. "What was that?"

"If I knew I would tell you."

"It's like some kind of...force field," Jean concurred. "Question is: how do we get in?"

"Let me give it a try," Shadowcat suggested as she began to walk toward it.

"Don't! Nightcrawler's right it would be too dangerous. Watch." I picked up a rock and chucked it toward the force field. Instead of repelling it, the rock passed harmlessly through. "I knew it! This dome must prevent penetration from mutants. The reason why the professor couldn't pick up anyone in this location is because cerebro is powered by telepathy. He couldn't get through even if he tried his hardest."

"How are we supposed to get in now?" Rogue questioned, a frustrated look on her face and hands resting on her hips.

"If there's a force field there's bound to be a generator somewhere," Cyclops voiced. "We have to find it and destroy it."

Storm shook her head in disagreement. "Impossible. The generator is most likely to be located inside the base. How else would it surround the entire facility?"

"Well Nightcrawler certainly can't teleport us in," I added. This force field was becoming a nuisance if anything. How were we supposed to get in if it was surrounding the entire area? "Okay what if we-" THUD! Dust filled the air and after it cleared I saw my brother with a very nonchalant expression pointing down at an underground tunnel that he had just formed. "That could work too."

After walking down into the dark dirt tunnel, Storm made a small ball of electricity to illuminate it. I gulped nervously and let out a shaky breath. Creeped out is an understatement here. Being underwater is fun for me but being underground? Ugh, it makes me cringe for some reason. The dirt here isn't even moist. It's dry and brittle so I couldn't pull any water from it. Maybe that's why I'm so uncomfortable here. Wrapped up in my thoughts, I was unaware that we stopped moving in the single file line we were in until I bumped into Nightcrawler.

"Why did we stop?"

"Metal wall," Wolverine answered.

"Think you can manipulate it?"

"I'll try," Stone replied as he shoved his fists into the wall, side by side, making a resonating clank upon collision. He slowly pulled each fist from the other and the metal wall began to split until there was an opening large enough for all of us to go through. After piling out of our makeshift entrance, I instantly sensed the minds in the building. I guess mutant powers still worked in the force field. Whoever made this force field was pretty stupid to say the least.

"They're that way," Jean and I both proclaimed as we pointed toward a long corridor. Rushing down the hallway we began to close in on the minds and as we found the door with the hostage mutants, I crashed into someone. Well more like the person almost ran me over. We both fell to the floor and that's when everything got complicated.

"Jesus! Watch were you're going!" the person snapped. "Can't you see me running here?"

That very familiar voice made me shut my eyes and say "Please God, let this be some sort of twisted dream." I unwillingly opened one of my eyes and groaned loudly. "Aw come on! Quicksilver, what are you doing here?" The rest of the Brotherhood behind him but Toad was missing from the lineup.

"Could ask you the same thing, Tsunami," he retorted. Pietro looked better than the last time I saw him. His jaw line more defined, he much less scrawny and his voice got deeper. Not that I minded how high pitched his voice was before but now he sounded...ruggedly sexy. His teeth seemed to shine even more through his infamous smirk and his white hair looked like fresh snow. "What are _you_ doing here?"

He stood up without even offering a hand to help me up. I guess all common courtesy toward me has disappeared since I broke up with him. I've even heard through the grapevine, the grapevine being Lance, that he's gone back to being a womanizer. But somehow it's even worse than before. He's treating the girls he dates more cruelly than ever. Like verbally belittling them and even kicking them out of the house half naked. Although he claims he's _fine_ with the break up. Smell that sarcasm coming through the screen?

"I asked you first."

"We came to get Toad."

A curious look crossed my look making my eyebrows furrow into a unibrow. "Toad is here? Why? The Morlocks were captured. Why was he even in the sewers?"

"Beats me," Quicksilver shrugged. "If you'll excuse me..."

He began to walk past me when I said "You're going in the wrong direction. The prisoners are over there." I pointed toward the door on my right and shot a knowing grin at him.

"I don't need you or your help," he spat in animosity before smirking. "I've done plenty without you. Plenty indeed."

A disgusted scoff came from me as I retorted "Tell it to someone who cares. I'm trying to help Toad."

"Since when do you care about Toad?" Quicksilver asked, a look of mock interest on his handsome face.

'Wait, did I just call him handsome?'

(I heard that,) came his smug sounding projection. (Still pining after me, I see.) I growled at him as he shot me an arrogant look. (And still a feisty little firecracker.)

"You two can fight later," Cyclops butted in. "We're in the middle of a mission right now."

"She started it," Quicksilver immaturely mumbled.

I stuck my tongue out at him and Cyclops sighed. "If you're gonna fight, at least do it while trying to get the prisoners."

As Cyclops counted to three on his fingers, he sent an optic blast toward the door and it flew across the room in a charred heap. They must've been expecting us because once we barged inside every gun was pointed at us. It's always nice to be welcomed. The guards were dressed in slick, black jumpsuits and on every arm was a red sleeve that had the letters 'FOH' on them. I mentally asked Wanda to cause a distraction and she promptly agreed.

(As long as you're here might as well give me a hand with something,) I said. (And no isn't an option. When Wanda makes a distraction, disable the guards.)

Quicksilver huffed but otherwise made no argument. I made eye contact with the Scarlet Witch and she gave a curt nod. The metal covered light fixtures above the guards heads glowed blue with hex magic before the light bulbs exploded. Momentary disorientation was all Quicksilver needed to zip around the room and grab every weapon the guards had in under twenty seconds.

"You've gotten faster," I noticed as he returned to my side.

He smirked and said "You sound surprised."

"Only slightly," I replied. "I always knew you had it in you or have you forgotten who was the first person to ever believe in you?" A half smile and tiny chuckle followed my reply. Pietro let the corner of his mouth turn up into a happy smirk.

"Save the chit chat for later," Wolverine growled as he noticed us getting a little too friendly. "Aren't you two forgetting something?"

Nightcrawler teleported Shadowcat and himself across the room to free the prisoners while the rest of us were left to deal with the guards. Even without their weapons, the guards still charged for us hoping to beat us in hand to hand combat. Storm zapped people left and right, Wolverine was pouncing on any guard that came his way, Blob was knocking guards down like bowling pins as he charged toward them, the Scarlet Witch was using things around the room to trap guards, Rogue was defending herself without any powers at her disposal, Cyclops and Jean were fighting back to back and Avalanche was releasing tremors that were causing gaping holes on the floor. I swiftly defeated each guard that came my way, struggling only when they attacked from the left however. As I kicked a guard in the chest, another one crept up behind me but was taken out by Quicksilver.

"Now you owe me," he haughtily stated. While he was bragging to me, a different guard came up from behind him but I sent a psionic blast at him causing him to writhe on the ground in pain. I smirked at Quicksilver and pointed behind him.

"I guess we're even," I chuckled as playfully punched him in the chest and turned to help the others free the prisoners. There were five cells that had some type of green colored energy glowing on the bars. Three of the cells were already opened leaving me to take care of the other two.

"I'm saved!" Toad exclaimed as he pushed his way to the front of the cell. "Out of the way losers. Free Toad walking. Hurry up with the rescue, Tsunami; these jokers stink like sewage."

I rolled my eyes at the Toad's hilarious irony and sent icicle shaped projectiles at what looked like the power source of the energy and they shorted out. The glow stopped so Cybelle was able to melt the bars freeing the other mutants. There was only one cell left that only had one prisoner in it: Spyke.

"Long time, no see, Spyke," I curtly greeted. Two years and I still hated the guy. But it's been years maybe he's changed his crappy attitude. "Couldn't you have gotten captured after breakfast?"

"Sorry to interrupt your life at the cushy mansion," Spyke sarcastically growled.

I chortled at his annoyance. "Calm down, porcupine. Jeez, can't you take a joke?"

"Of course he can't," Quicksilver answered as hie sped up behind me. "He wouldn't know good humor if it hit him in the spiky and disgusting face."

Spyke narrowed his eyes to slits, his pupils burning with loathing and infuriation. "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to see _your_ face anymore. You're still dating this guy? I thought you were better than this." Nope, he still has a crappy attitude.

"I'm not actually," I huffed. I shot an ice projectile at the generator and it shorted out. You'd think he'd be a little more grateful to the girl breaking him out of a cell. I sliced through the bars with a quick whip of water and the mangled bars clattered to the floor. "I have a boyfriend."

Quicksilver looked upset like this was news to him but of course he tried to hide it. I made a mental note to double check on this after we boarded the jet. "That's everybody. Let's get going."

After making sure everyone was gathered in a tight group, we hastily barreled out of the room only to be faced with another group of guards.

"Take care of 'em, Blob," Quicksilver commanded. Blob took a running start and charged toward the guards knocking them over like bowling pins before making a hole in the wall to aid our escape. After running through the woodsy forest, we finally boarded the jet. It's a good thing we took the X-Jet instead of the XM-Velocity because we would have never been able to fit this many people on it. And as my streak of fabulous luck would have it, Pietro was the one who sat down next to me. I could already tell this would be a fun ride home.

"Of all the seats on this million dollar jet, you choose the one next to me," I dribbled with an angry pout.

Pietro gave me a half smile and with a hint of laughter in his voice said "You were always so cute when you pouted. Nothing really has changed in the past couple years." Okay, why the sudden change? What happened to the guy who couldn't stand the sight of me not twenty minutes ago?

"Yes they have," I disagreed. "I graduated from Bayville High in the top five of my class, am currently studying family medicine as well as general surgery at the University of Central Bayville and I'm living a very happy life with my boyfriend of one year. So to sum all that up: I grew up and got over _you_."

Pietro who wasn't so easily riled up retorted "Ah yes. Your 'boyfriend'. Who is he anyway? I've been so busy with my very important social life to even bother to check our link and find out."

"Don't act like you don't know," I dryly said. "I'm dating Alex Summers."

Pietro's eyes went wide then he closed them as hearty laughter poured out of him. "Mini Summers? You're dating_ Mini Summers_? Ha! Talk about a huge step down. What could he possibly have that I don't?"

"Me," I answered with a smug smile. Pietro's laughter abruptly stopped. "Ooh. Did I strike a nerve? Besides, Alex is a very sweet, handsome, smart and caring guy. Unlike you, he doesn't go around humping every female that moves. And speaking of females, how is Rachel? And Tina? And Veronica? And Michelle? And-"

"Okay, I get the point," he said as he held up a hand to make me stop. "They're all fine thank you. What do you care? No wait, don't answer that! I can tell you myself." Pietro put a finger to his temple, no doubt looking through my thoughts. "You check up on me every so often to make sure I'm not getting in serious trouble. You think the women I dating are whores and prostitutes with no self respect or class. And you sometimes regret ending things because you always wonder how your life would be with me. Shall I keep going?"

Rather than glare at him or hit him for reading my innermost thoughts, I simpered lightly. "Clap, clap, bravo! You remembered how to use our telepathic link. You're a real piece of work. Did finding that out make you feel better about yourself? Make your head swell up just a little bit more? I don't care that you know, go ahead and keep combing through my thoughts if you want. But I will say that if I said any of it wasn't true, I'd be a filthy liar."

"If it's true, why not drop Mini Summers and get back with me?" Pietro asked as he wiggled his eyebrows in a way that was supposed to be attractive. "You know you want to."

"No, _you_ want me to because you miss me," I clarified as the jet finally landed in front of the mansion. "No matter how much you try to hide it there is a part of you, deep down past all the arrogance and pride, that wants me back. Try as you may to shake it, you can't because there is a microscopic shred of Pietro Maximoff that is still in love with me. Too bad he screwed up one to many times and is still scared to death of his monster of a father because God forbid if Alex and I ever broke up, I would coming running back to you. Now if you will excuse me, Alex is waiting for me."

For the first time in years, Pietro was stunned to stony silence. He watched as Semina unbuckled herself from the seat, sauntered past him, exited the jet and flew into the arms of Alex. They embraced for a moment before sharing a kiss, locking hands and heading inside.

A/N: Reviews would be nice. So, yeah...go review...NOW! Thanks!


	3. Unanswered Questions

Disclaimer: Finally! X-Men: Evolution is mine! Bwah ha ha! *wakes up from dream* Oh wait. Aww. My mistake, please don't sue me!

A/N: Yes, it's an update. Thanks for the reviews!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Unanswered Questions

"What happened here?" an angry voiced boomed into the semi-destroyed building. A man in a dark blue suit, who seemed to be in his mid thirties, walked further into the room. His blue eyes teemed with rage and his chest heaving. His brown hair was neatly combed to the side with a single lock hanging in the middle of his forehead. "Well? Answer me! Where are the mutants that were being held here?"

A guard rushed up to the man and sputtered out a nervous reply. "They managed to escape sir."

"What?" The man shouted. "I thought they were under heavy guard!"

"Another group of mutants broke in and set them free sir," the guard told him. "One of them has also stolen one of the prototype mutant repellent generators."

"I want those muties found and brought to me as soon as possible," the man hissed. As he turned to walk away his ring gleamed in the light. The ring with the letter G on it.

At the Mansion

My team and I made our way to the planning room to be debriefed on the rescue mission. For some reason Evan was being included as well.

"I trust the mission was a success?" Professor Xavier stoically asked. He smiled as he saw Evan. "It's nice to see you again, Evan."

"Likewise, prof," Evan replied.

"What were you able to gather from the base?" the professor questioned.

Anthony put a small rectangular shaped device on the table. It was no bigger than a box of gloves but to be able to do what it can was mind boggling. This was some really advanced tech.

"This is a generator that is able to create a force field powerful enough to block out mutant powers," Scott explained. "When activated a green dome appears that will repel any mutants from entering and/or escaping it as well as cancel out the sending or receiving of telepathic messages. Semina will demonstrate for us."

I stood up and walked next to the generator. I pressed the button on it and the force field shot around me.

"Can you hear us?" Scott asked.

"Loud and clear o' fearless leader," I replied.

"Try sending a telepathic message to the professor," Scott advised.

I put my fingers to my temple and sent the message.

"Did you get it?" I asked the professor.

He shook his head. "How are you able to use your powers? Shouldn't they be neutralized while in the dome?"

"We have reason to believe this generator is a prototype," Jean piped up. "Mutants can use their powers inside of the force field but they cannot touch it or they'll be forcefully thrown back. Logan? If you would."

Logan popped out his claws and tried to slash through the dome but it was deflected and he was sent barreling back.

"It could be in the early stages which is why mutant powers can be used," Scott said. "I think Beast should break it down to try to understand the inner workings of the device."

"I'll have him start on it right away," Professor X nodded. "Now let's discuss the people you encountered on your mission."

Kurt switched off the generator and I was finally freed from the dome. We each took a seat at the long table in the planning room.

"I want you all to describe any little thing you could possibly remember," the professor said.

"The guards were wearing these black jumpsuits," Kitty began.

Rogue continued for her. "Their sleeves had the letters FOH on them."

"Their weapons looked eerily familiar," I added. "None of them were fired but there was something about them that were giving me the creeps." I don't know what the guns would have done if fired but it's design reminded me of another gun I've seen before. I just couldn't bring myself to figure out where.

"Did you happen to find who was behind all of this?" Professor X pried.

"We never saw a leader there," Scott answered. "There were just guards."

Kurt's shoulders drooped. "Whoever was running zhe base must not have been zhere."

"There was something off about our battle with the guards," Jean said. Her eyes looked toward my brother. "While we were fighting them, Anthony wasn't in the room."

I thought back to the rescue yesterday and realized she was right. "Where were you?"

"A little bit on infiltration was in order," Anthony explained. "I only got to check out one room. It seemed to be an office. Probably for the leader of the mutant hunters." The professor motioned for him to go on. "Going through a couple file cabinets, I came across a folder marked "Expenses". Bolivar Trask's name was on a check for one hundred thousand dollars. Whoever this group is somehow they're getting Trask's help."

Anger bubbled within me at the mention of the man who cost me my baby. My fingernails dug into the palm of my closed hand and through clenched teeth I growled "But I thought he was still in S.H.I.E.L.D custody. How could he possibly be helping these monsters?"

"That's something we're going to find out, kid," Logan grumbled as he stood. "Stripes, Elf, you two are coming with me and Sprinkler."

"Vhere are ve going?" Kurt asked.

"We're gonna pay Nick Fury a little visit," I answered as we left the room.

* * *

><p>As I put my feet through my X-men battle suit I sighed as I felt it fit more snugly. It would soon be time to get new ones. After my first year of college, I put on the "Freshman 15" and I just couldn't seem to shake the weight. But good thing this suit was stretchy. I pulled the suit up to my waist when a blur of white zoomed into the room.<p>

Turning around to face him, I groaned in both utter annoyance and anger. "And to what do I owe this unexpected and unwanted visit?"

Pietro seemed to be trying to focus his vision on something other than my breasts and he did when he saw the long scar on the right side of my stomach. I cleared my throat and repeated the question. This time he actually answered. "I couldn't sense our link."

"So you came out of concern?" I asked, a warm feeling touching my heart. That was sweet.

Pietro barked out a laugh. "Hell no. I came out of curiosity. Didn't I already make it clear that I didn't care what happens to you?"

If steam could come out of a person's ears, you'd see it happening right now. "Then you can go now! Or I can make you go."

"Nope, I'll think I'll stick around," Pietro replied. He eyes were still transfixed on my scar so I quickly zipped up my suit. "What was that scar? Last time I saw your body it wasn't there."

Memories of the scars origin flooded back to me. The sharp objects, the blood and the pain...so much pain. "None of your business!" I snapped forcing myself to stop thinking about it. "You weren't even around when it happened so it's none of your concern. Just go."

"No," he firmly stated. I'm not sure if he was staying to test my patience or to try to ask about my latest scar. "There's nothing to do at that dump I call home so I came to bother you."

"Don't you have any lady friends to 'entertain' you?" I smirked, pulling on my silver boots. "No? Looks like your 'Maximoff Charm' is losing it's touch."

"Semina, it worked on you, the most stubborn girl I know," Pietro countered. "It will _never_ lose it's touch."

"Whatever," I replied. "Now will you leave? Don't make me get Logan in here."

"Why do you always send him after me?" Pietro demanded.

"Because he's like a father to me," I answered. "Meaning it's his job to protect his daughter from guys like you. Or I could always have Alex come in here instead."

"What's that peaceful surfer boy gonna do?" Pietro laughed.

I giggled at how little Pietro knew. "Peaceful? You've never seen my baby get mad. Alex wouldn't hold back on my account if he caught you up here annoying me. He's very passionate about his feelings when it comes to me." I let out a sultry and breathy chuckle. "And I mean _very_ passionate."

Pietro was jealous on the inside but didn't show it. I saw a muscle in his face twitch so I decided to keep tormenting him. "It feels incredible when he kisses me on that sensitive part of my neck. You know the same one you used to love." I pulled down my collar and showed him the hickey on my neck. "I like what Alex and I have. There's no room for **you** anymore."

"I see what you're doing," Pietro noticed wagging his finger at me how a mother would scold a child for doing something bad. "You're trying to make me jealous. But it won't work. I assure you I can do better than you. So much better."

Though that struck a nerve I didn't know I had, I let out an evil grin. I picked up a bottle of vanilla scented perfume and sprayed the air. "ALEX! CAN YOU COME IN HERE?"

Pietro stared daggers at me before speedily climbing out the window and running off the mansion grounds. A few moments later Alex burst into the room.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked as he looked around the room to see nothing out of the ordinary.

I pouted and replied "I thought I saw a spider."

Alex sighed while masking a smile. He saw my innocent look and groaned. "Oh come here." I buried myself in his chest and counted my blessings that I ended up with a person as great as Alex. Not even Pietro could ruin this.

At the S.H.I.E.L.D prison

Wolverine landed the XM-Velocity in front of the prison where we saw through the windows that Nick Fury, Maria Hill and a group of guards were waiting for us.

"Do you think by any chance they've forgotten the whole Sierra thing?" I hopefully asked Logan. "It _has_ been two years." Wolverine looked at me and chuckled. "I guess that's my answer."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Nightcrawler reassured.

"Really?"

Nightcrawler sheepishly grinned. "As your best friend I'm obligated to say zhat."

I gave Kurt a look that said "Seriously?" as we got off the jet. The moment I stepped off the guards all pointed their guns at me.

I threw my hands up in a surrendered stance and exclaimed "Whoa! I see you all remember me? Don't worry I'm not Sierra. Now if you'll just put the guns down..." I reached out to slowly point the closest one toward the ground when every guard cocked their guns. My hands flew back up. "Okay, never mind."

"Fury, call off your men," Wolverine growled. "We're here on X-Men business."

Fury looked at Maria who shook her head in disagreement but he had them stand down anyway. "What is it you need, Wolverine?"

"First we need privacy and then we'll talk," Wolverine said.

Nick Fury escorted us to his office with Maria Hill in tow. After we were safely in his spacious office, we each opted to stand because sitting signified that we were here to be civil.

"Ve're here to speak vith Bolivar Trask about a very important matter," Nightcrawler began. "Zhe sooner, zhe better."

"Trask is no longer in our facility," Fury told us. "He was discharged as of Wednesday last week."

"I don't think I heard you correctly," I chuckled. My eyes zeroed in on his face and suddenly became serious. "Do you mean to tell me that...that Bolivar Trask is free? The man is evil! He captures mutants and puts them through these horrible experiments and now he can do it whenever he wants!"

"What happened to his thirty year sentence?" Rogue asked. "It's only been two years. There's no way a judge would rule to have him released after the crimes he's committed." Thirty years wasn't nearly enough in my opinion. If it were up to me, I'd let him fry on the electric chair. Or die by poison injection. Or hell, let me take care of the man personally.

"It wasn't a judge who had him set free," Fury sighed. It's obvious that he didn't want Trask released but even the director of S.H.I.E.L.D should have gotten a say on his release. "The person who asked for his immediate release was far more...resourceful and connected than that. I couldn't say no even if I had the chance."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling a huge migraine coming on and trying to to soothe my overpowering urge to lash out at the nearest person. "Okay, Fury, we want answers," I asserted, trying to keep my tone both even and professional. "And it starts back to the day Bolivar Trask was released from custody two years ago."

"I already told you that I had no control over that," Fury retorted.

"That's not why we're asking," Rogue drawled. "We want to know who asked for him to be released. Then and now. Simple as that."

"That information is classified under the highest level of S.H.I.E.L.D security," Maria spoke up. "We're in no position to tell you."

"Well you better declassify it," Wolverine snapped. Maria shot him a glare which he ignored then looked at Fury with what seemed like angry but pleading eyes. "We just want a name. You at least owe us that much."

"What good would it do you if you knew who asked for his release?" Maria asked.

"Trask is a dangerous man who has a personal vendetta against all of mutant kind," I replied. "Do you really want to be the people who withheld information that could be used to prevent a possible genocide?"

Fury and Maria exchanged a look. Fury was the one who answer. "His name is Henry Peter Gyrich."

* * *

><p>"Ah, here it is," Beast exclaimed as he located Gyrich's file on our computer database. After we returned from the S.H.I.E.L.D base, Team Alpha and Beta were called together to discuss the matter at hand. "There's not much information but it says here he's a anti mutant activist and a very wealthy one at that. It's possible that he found a way to pay someone of higher power to order Nick Fury to release Trask. With Gyrich's wealth and Trask's expertise of mutant genetics, these two could be plotting something huge."<p>

"Is there any connection with them and the people who kidnapped the Morlocks?" LaToya asked.

"It is Trask's technology that is aiding them so it's very likely," Professor Xavier answered.

"And speaking of technology, were you able to figure out how the generator works?" I asked.

Beast clicked his tongue as he pulled out the generator. "After breaking it down to analyze it, I found that the generator is powered by this." He held up a tiny green vial and I felt my skin turn to ice. I visibly tensed up and Beast noticed. "I thought you'd recognize this Semina. This is the power neutralizing serum that was previously used on you."

"B-but how?" I sputtered, visibly shaking as the horrible memories from my past resurfaced. "I made sure that I destroyed anything that had to do with that serum back at Area 51. I even stole the file with the chemical properties list! How was he able to recreate it without them?"

"That's what I wondered as well," Beast sympathized. "So I ran a few tests on it and compared it with the serum that was in your blood. As it turns out they're not identical in chemical structure but Trask is trying to remake it to be able to neutralize mutants powers again. Because the serum hasn't been perfected is the reason why the force field isn't fully operational in the way it's meant to be used. However, this new batch he's making does trouble me."

"Why?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Judging from what he's mixing together this new serum might be able to permanently extinguish the X-Gene," Beast said, holding back a growl. I could tell he was disgusted how a fellow member of the scientific community could do something so evil. "It's too early to tell though."

Scott fervently shook his head. "There's something that isn't adding up here. I understand why Trask is helping this FOH group but what does Gyrich want with him?" Scott had a point. It was a conundrum if anything.

"I suppose those are pieces to the puzzle that has yet to be solved," the professor cryptically replied.

A/N: Short: yes. Dull: no. Everything is going according to plan.*evil laugh* Let's add a little fluff, a nasty prank at the Brotherhood House and Semina's first day of teaching the new recruits in the next chappie. And remember REVIEW!


	4. Pressure

Disclaimer: Stop rubbing it in okay disclaimer! I don't own X-Men: Evolution so you can't sue me!

A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY! School opened Monday and I've been buried to my neck in AP work. My updates will be less frequent but I'm determined to get this story out for my readers. Here's the new chappie. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Pressure

"Good morning class," I joyfully said as I walked into the Danger Room. A group of new recruits stood before me waiting for class to start. I was supposed to teach this class with Rogue but she said she'd be late and to start without her. "My name is Semina Wilson but you can call me by my codename Tsunami or you can call me Mina. Either is fine, just **not** Ms. Wilson. It makes me sound old. Unfortunately, my co-teacher Rogue isn't here so it's just me for today. We'll be your combat teachers for the duration of your stay at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. We'll be teaching you the basics of self defense, simple and advanced fighting styles among other things. Any questions?" A boy with black hair and a basketball jersey shot his hand up. "Yes, Kenneth?"

"You're pretty," Kenneth said.

"That's not a question but thank you," I laughed. "Any actual questions?"

A girl with brown hair tied into pigtails and wearing a Juicy Couture sweat suit raised her hand. "Like, how do we even know you can fight? You look way too weak."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that so, Amy? Well I hope the class doesn't mind if I give a demonstration then." They cheered loudly as the prospect of their teacher fighting. I looked up at the control and called for a sparring partner. "Babe, can I get some help down here?"

A moment later X-23 walked into the Danger Room making me look at her with confusion. "Where's Alex? I thought he was up in the control room."

"He stepped out for lunch," Laura replied. "Logan sent me down here instead."

Thanks Logan. "Okay, let's go then," I sputtered, nervous because I was about to fight the _best_ fighter in the mansion but I took a fighting stance anyway. 'Keep it together, Mina. You can do this.'

X-23 attacked first by lunging at me. She threw a punch with her right hand that connected with my jaw sending me into the wall. But it would take more than a simple right hook to get me down. I peeled myself off the wall and ducked when she tried to strike again. I brought my knee up and it collided with her stomach. With the wind knocked out of her, X-23 stumbled back for a moment before recovering and aiming a high kick at my head. Dodging it, I aimed for her legs and swept them out from under her. X-23 reached up and grabbed my ankle to pull me down with her. Grappling around the the floor while trying to pin her, she used both of her feet to fling me off of her. Crashing to the ground, I rolled twice before struggling to get up. X-23's fist came flying toward but but I did a sudden flip to avoid it. I instantly regretted my foolish mistake because the landing caused a jolt of pain to shot through my left leg. I tried to ignore the pain as I kicked X-23 in the shoulder. She caught my leg and forced it back down before delivering the final blow: a punch aimed at the left side of my face. Falling to the ground, I panted in anger as I knew I had been beaten. I stared at the metal floor at my blurry reflection as I heard the class cheer. Laura stuck her hand down to help me up but I pretended like I didn't see it and used the wall as a support to get up.

I forced a smile on my face as I looked at my class. "I think that's all for today. Tomorrow the real work begins. Class dismissed."

As the class ran out of the Danger Room, I followed them trying my hardest to mask my limp. Laura asked if I was okay and I replied with a snappy yes. The elevator ride up to the mansion level was long and calm. It helped me simmer down a bit and as the doors opened, I limped to the kitchen for an ice bag and to find Alex. And find him I did. He was chatting with Lorna Dane, one of our newest recruits. But it's not them having lunch that made me upset, it was the girl with a look of infatuation on her face and her hand that was so carefully placed on Alex's bicep and that riled me up. I cleared my throat loudly and they veered their heads around to see me.

"Hey babe," Alex greeted, not even moving from his seat to show any kind of affection. This upset me even more. "I was just telling Lorna here about the time I brought you to Hawaii with me for that surf competition. You know the one where we had lunch on the beach after the competition was over and watched the sunset together."

"Oh," came my small response. Guess I was overreacting. Of course he wouldn't be flirting with her. What was I thinking? Jealously really gets the best of you sometimes. "Well, Laura told me you were down here for lunch. I just came to get an ice pack. "

Concern flashed on his face as he shot up from his seat, quickly enough to knock it over, to inspect my body. "Are you hurt?"

"It's just my leg. It's a bit swollen," I said as pointed at it. "I'm sorry about this. I know we had plans tonight but can we just stay in instead? I don't think going out skating would be good for my leg."

Alex kissed my forehead and said "Don't apologize. These things happen. We could always reschedule. Once your ankle is less swollen, we can watch a movie, eat popcorn and just enjoy ourselves."

"I'd like that." I kissed him for being so understanding, enjoying his soft and supple lips before he abruptly broke the kiss and swooped me into his arms. "Alex! What are you doing?"

"Carrying you upstairs, babe," Alex answered. "Just like the last time you hurt your leg, remember?"

I giggled and as we walked out of the kitchen I shot a look at Lorna that said "Hands off. He's mine."

* * *

><p>Before I could spend some time alone with Alex, Team Alpha and Beta were called to the planning room along with the New Mutants so Professor Xavier could announce who would be promoted to full time X-Man. I flagged Rogue down in the hall so we could talk on the way there.<p>

"So how's Remy?" I teased. It was so obvious why Rogue missed out on her first day of teaching. There was a Cajun thief she wanted to spend time with. She opened her mouth to deny it but I beat her to the punch. "Don't even think about denying it."

"I wasn't with him," she stubbornly retorted.

"_Rogue_." I gave her a look that make her crack.

"Okay, okay. I was with him," Rogue admitted, the faintest look of a blush creeping on her face. "The Swamp Rat is fine. We took a walk and talked but that's it."

"Was it romantic?" I asked, nudging her sleeve covered arm with my and grinning madly. "Ooh! Tell me, tell me!"

"We are just friends, Mina," Rogue quietly replied. "Nothing more."

I noticed the Queen of Hearts playing card sticking out of her pocket and smiled. I plucked it and waved it in her face. "But you wanna be more than that, don't you? I know all about being in love with someone on the opposite teams so I'm rooting for you two lovebirds."

"Just stop it!" Rogue snapped, anger suddenly gripping her voice as she snatched the card back. "We couldn't be more than friends anyway. What kind of man would want to be with someone who can't touch him, let alone kiss him?"

I frowned and rubbed her back for comfort. "The kind of man who loves you regardless. Love isn't meant to be physical, it's meant to be centered in the hearts of two people that would go through hell and back for each other. And come on, Gambit's been eying you since you two first met! He's _crazy_ for you and if he doesn't want to stick it out with you because he can't touch you then he isn't worth it."

Rogue perked up a bit but remained quiet as we finally entered the planning room. I really do want things to work out between her and Gambit. After all Rogue's been through, she deserves a little happiness.

"Now that Rogue and Semina have arrived, I can get started," Professor X said making all eyes lock on us. We looked sheepish and muttered a quick sorry for our tardiness and let the professor have the floor. "Now as you all know, there are some members of the New Mutant team that have excelled in the control of their powers. So today I'm not only promoting one member, but I am promoting _four_."

Whispers of excitement swept through the room. Four new X-Men. This was going to be interesting, especially once teams have been picked.

"Angel, Havok, Polaris and X-23 have all been promoted," Professor X announced. "Congratulations to you four. Angel and X-23 please join Team Alpha. Havok and Polaris please join Team Beta. I trust that you will welcome and get along with your new team members."

"What? No way. Alex won't be on our team?" I sadly repeated.

"'Fraid not little sis," LaToya said. She offered one of her most soothing smiles and touched my hand. My sister decided to dye her hair jet black and cut off a couple inches of her hair so it reached her chin. It was a bold decision but Kurt seems to love it. "Don't worry, my future brother in law is in good hands."

"It's okay, Mina," Alex calmed as he lifted my chin to look at him. "We may be on separate teams but it'll be okay. Plus you get me all to yourself tonight." Kurt, LaToya and Kitty made kissing noises behind us before bursting into amused titters. "Ignore them. So I'll meet you on the couch tonight at seven."

"Wouldn't miss it," I beamed. I gave him a quick peck and watched him go greet his new team. My smile withered into a sneer as X-23 sat with us.

"We sure lucked out didn't we," Anthony whispered. He shaved off his braids so all he had was a brush cut but it suited him. And just when you though my brother couldn't get anymore muscular, he did. His arms were like the size of tree trunks now but I am prone to over exaggeration. But they really were BIG! "We have_ X-23_ on our team now. Aren't you excited?"

I sighed before sucking my teeth in an irritated fashion. "Ecstatic," I monotonously responded.

Later that day

"No Kitty," I firmly stated as I crossed my arms. "No, no, no, no, _no_."

"Please, please, please?" Kitty pleaded.

"No!" I snapped. "I'm not letting you borrow my motorcycle to go to the Brotherhood House of all places. No way!" For my 18th birthday, Logan and Professor Xavier had surprised me with the most gorgeous motorcycle. Each tire had an X logo in it, the muffler was chrome platted, the color scheme was black and silver and, because the professor tricked it out, a fully operational weapons system.

"Well, can you drive me there instead?" Kitty suggested. "I promise it won't take long and you'll be home in time for your date with Alex."

"Why do you want to go there anyway? I know Lance is your boyfriend and all but he does have a jeep," I snidely remarked. "Ask to borrow Scott's car or Jean's SUV or the X-Van. Anything but my baby."

"Lance's jeep's transmission needs to be fixed," Kitty explained. "Scott won't let me get near his car after what happened last time, Jean is out with her car and Logan says I can't drive the X-Van because the weapons system is having it's monthly upgrade."

I vigorously shook my head no but then Kitty jutted her lip out in a baby pout and batted her eyelashes sweetly. Finally caving, I muttered "Go grab a helmet." Kitty reached up and hugged me before skipping away. "Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret taking her there?"

At the Brotherhood House

"There. I drove you here," I said bringing my motorcycle to a halt in the driveway. Kitty hopped off the back and scampered into the Lance, who was waiting at the door. The Brotherhood had only changed by a slight margin. Lance was growing out his chocolate colored locks, working out every week and even got a job as a mechanic. He was still head over heels for Kitty and vice-versa. "Bye now!"

I revved the engine before starting to back up. Wanda came out of the house and noticed me leaving. Wanda still hadn't gotten her memories back so she was still completely unaware of Magneto did to her. Without all that rage eating away at her, she was living as normal a life as a mutant could have. She was now wearing her hair in a short bob instead of a pixie haircut but the tips were still dyed scarlet red. "Wait! You can't leave yet!"

I took off my helmet and regarded her with a curious disposition. "Why not? I have a date tonight."

"I need your help with something Pietro related," Wanda replied. I began to put my helmet back on but Wanda stopped me. "Pietro has a date with this girl named Valerie tonight and I need your help getting rid of her. The last time she was here she called me a gothic freak and said my outfits were tacky. I usually don't care what people say about me but this bitch needs to get put in her place. I know since you're not on the best terms with my dear brother, I figured you could help me out."

I thought over this proposition carefully. I really couldn't pass up an opportunity like this so I parked my motorcycle before grinning deviously. "What do you need me to do?"

We discussed the plan in detail inside of the house while on the couch sipping on cold lemonade. This plan could ruin Pietro's reputation with women but it was brilliant! And I figure a little payback is in order for all the crap I've put up with when I was with him.

"So where did he meet this Valerie chick?" I asked, curious to where Pietro finds his whor- I mean girls. "Club? Mall? Street corner?"

Wanda laughed and shook her head. "Get this: a bookstore. She was reading a book on the history of the color pink."

"So she's somewhat educated enough to read," I snickered. "Blonde?"

"Brunette," Wanda corrected. "If she wasn't such a rude bitch, I would have given the poor girl a chance." Wanda motioned for me to come closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she asked "Are you sure you don't want to get back with my brother? You are the only girl who was ever able to straighten him up."

"Not a chance," I replied, before taking a sip of my cold beverage. "Alex and I are happy."

The floor beneath the couch shook as Fred bounded down the stairs with Toad. Fred had really packed on the pounds. He was twice as big as I remember. Toad was the same though. He still showered only once a month and I could tell by the ripe smell wafting off of him.

Toad noticed Wanda first and exclaimed "Babycakes! There you are!" He hopped over the couch so he was directly in front of us. His face brightened even more as he saw me. "Semina! Thank God! You're here to get back with Pietro, aren't you? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's about time the two of you worked things out," Fred dimwittedly agreed.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I asked to no one in particular. "I'm _not_ getting back with Pietro. I'm here for something else." Their faces withered into disappointment prompting me to investigate. "Why do you guys want me back with him?"

"He wasn't as much as a prick when he was with you," Fred bluntly answered. "Pietro's more of a jerk than he was when we were younger."

"Yeah! He's been acting like a real ass, yo," Toad piped in. "Making us run errands for him, treating us like dirt, thinking he's better than everyone. We liked him better when you were around to keep him in line. You made him better, and not that we like you or nothing, but you were alright to have over here."

"Especially when you would cook for us," Fred said, licking his lips.

"Sorry guys, we're not getting back together," I told them. "Anytime soon anyway."

"So you're saying there's hope in the future?" Toad asked.

"_Never_ said that but who knows?" I shrugged. A knock at the door made me smile. "Heh, heh. Showtime. Wanda?"

We got up from the couch and got ready to ruin Pietro's date. Wanda opened the door and I had to restrain from keeping my jaw from dropping. This Valerie girl was stunning! Long flowing brown hair, high cheekbones, heart shaped face, pink bow lips and long graceful limbs. She was just beautiful, much more than I was. Fueled by an unexplainable feeling of jealousy and territoriality, I looked at Wanda and we put our little plan into action.

"Hey there, Valerie," Wanda said in a sugary sweet voice which sounded creepy to me. "Come on in. My brother is almost ready."

Valerie walked in while eying me up and down. "Who are you?" she rudely asked.

"I'm a friend of Wanda's and a close friend of Pietro's," I answered. "Too close a friend I might add."

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked.

I sighed deeply. "Pietro and I used to date. I thought I was in love with him as soon as we met. We dated for eleven months but our break up was a little nasty. Who am I kidding? It was disgusting!"

"Disgusting? How so?" Valerie questioned, her attention fully roped on my tale.

"I found out that he had this really rare STD that makes all sorts of festering boils pop up all over his...you know," I shuddered. "He had the audacity to tell me right before he tried to sleep with me."

"B-but it'll go away right?" Valerie asked, fear written on her face.

"Depends," I shrugged. "Right now, he's upstairs taking his medication and putting cream on the infected area. You haven't slept with him, have you?" She furiously shook her head no. "Whew! You dodged a bullet then. I just thought I should let you know. I can't believe Pietro is still trying to play the field when he knows how bad his condition is."

Just as I finished my sentence, Pietro strutted down the stairs and smiled at Valerie before looking at me with surprise. He looked back and forth between us and groaned as he noticed Valerie's pale as a ghost skin. "Whatever she said wasn't true. She's lying to you!" Pietro reached out to touch her but she let out a shriek and hit him with her purse. She screamed that he was a disgusting, vile pig before running back to her car. Wanda closed the door and we doubled over with laughter to the point where we were on the floor gasping for air.

"That was awesome!" I guffawed as I high-fived Wanda. "Did you see her face?"

"Uh huh! I can't believe she bought that bogus story," Wanda bellowed. "Hey, Pietro? Did you remember to put on your cream?"

We launched into another fit of laughter as he glared furiously at us. "What did you two do?"

"Nothing," we replied at the same time while struggling to hold in laughter that escaped anyway.

"Semina? Can I have a word with you?" Pietro angrily barked. Pietro has never once yelled at me like that so I followed him upstairs. Once we were in his room, he pointed a finger at me. "What the hell is your problem? Are you fucking twisted in the head?"

"One: I have no problem and Two: I don't think I am," I coyly answered.

"Then why would you do that?" he hissed. Wow, Pietro was really upset. Did he actually like this girl or something?

"I was unintentionally saving you," I replied. "I scanned Valerie's mind. She was not only using you to make her ex-boyfriend jealous but she thinks you were an asshole from the day you guys met at the bookstore. She doesn't even like you."

Pietro scanned my face for any signs of dishonesty but there was none. I actually _was_ telling the truth so no harm done right? Just a very hilarious prank.

"You know I'm gonna get you back for that, right?" Pietro said, a cocky expression flashing on his face. "And when I do, you're gonna be sorry."

"Ooh, I'm quaking in my boots," I shook in mock fear. I put my hand on his chest, keeping it there longer than I wanted to, and pushed Pietro into his bed. "Bye, Pietro. It's date night." As I scanned his room on my way out my eyes fell on his dresser and I noticed a corner of what looked like an access card sticking out of a book. With no time to look closer at it, I simply walked out of Pietro's room.

Pietro sped in front of me. "Going so soon? I thought you'd like to stay here with someone a little more attractive than that surfer boy." Why does this not surprise me? Will he ever quit?

I looked at him with a nonchalant face and sent a psionic blast at him bringing him to his knees. Come to think of it, this might be the first time I've ever used my powers against Pietro. I gotta say it doesn't feel good. "Why aren't you in pain?" he exclaimed.

"That was a weak attack," I smirked. "Telepaths know how to block out blasts like that." I smiled nicely at him before walking down the stairs to the door. "Bye Wanda!" I called into the house. "And Kitty be home before one A.M! I don't want to have to come back here and I'd hate for Logan to come instead."

I walked out to my motorcycle and pulled my helmet on. There was a very handsome man waiting for me at home.

* * *

><p>Popcorn flew into Alex's mouth as I threw a tiny piece at him. I giggled as he gestured for me to try as well. I reluctantly agreed but the popcorn missed my mouth and landed in my lap. I laughed and threw a piece of popcorn on the top of his head. He brushed it away before pulling me close and kissing him. My hands went to his soft golden tresses roaming freely until I felt a popcorn kernel. Another giggle escaped my lips which were still locked with Alex's as I brushed it away. This went on for almost twenty minutes but I wasn't complaining.<p>

"So what are we watching?" I finally asked as I broke apart from him.

"Horror movie classic," Alex said as he held up the DVD case. "28 Days Later."

I squealed happily and exclaimed "Pop it in, pop it in!" I'm a huge fan of horror movies so I just love all things zombie related. Alex reclaimed his spot on the couch and pulled a blanket over us. I have a feeling that this movie might go unwatched tonight.

Thirty minutes later

Somewhere between the scene where Jim woke up from his coma and Frank and Hannah being found, our lips met and haven't separated since. Our lips tasted like salty, buttery popcorn but that didn't deter either of us. Because I was laying on Alex's chest I was of course on top. My hand was tugging at the hem of his t-shirt and he got the hint. Alex pulled it off and the t-shirt fell to the floor without a sound. I ran my hand over his bronzed chest and toned abs but suddenly stopped.

"Why'd ya stop?" Alex panted.

"It seems we have an audience," I whispered. I pointed at the piano of the living room. "Come on out, guys. I know you're there."

Two of our younger recruits sheepishly popped their heads up from behind the grand piano. Two boys named Ricky and Brandon, both in their teens, looked at us in awe. More specifically at my teal bra that was peeking out of my halfway unbuttoned shirt. I cleared my throat and jutted my head toward the exit signaling for them to leave. They left but not before ogling my chest some more.

"Why don't we take this upstairs?" I seductively whispered in his ear. "You know finish where we left off."

"Don't have to ask me twice," Alex responded, a twinkle in his eyes. I got up and shut off the DVD player and the TV. Sauntering over to Alex, I traced his jaw line before making a come here motion with my finger. He followed an as we walked up the stairs and to his room. My lips crashed into his and we fumbled through the door then onto his bed.

"So are we gonna...?" I asked. Contrary to what I told Pietro, we haven't taken that step forward yet and I'm surprised Alex has let me keep him waiting this long. But then again, not every guy was like Pietro.

"You know how much I want to but I have an early session," Alex replied, disappointment heavy in his voice. "And we have that joint training game in the Danger Room tomorrow."

I groaned. I completely forgot about that. "Okay but can we keep doing this?" I asked as I bent down to recapture his lips with mine.

"As long as you want," Alex replied, kissing me back with passion.

Hours later

"_Am I dead?" I questioned aloud, arms covering my face in defense. I slowly moved one arm down then the other until my eyes were free to scan the room. The Sentinels had vanished without a trace leaving me in a state of confusion. It looked like I wasn't in the room I was escorted into previously but in a lab. I was stuck in a long hallway and could just barely hear the cry of a baby._

"_My baby," I breathed as I took off in the direction of the cries. "I'm coming! Just hold on!"_

_I finally entered a room and on a lab table was a newborn baby wrapped in a yellow blanket surrounded by needles. The crying intensified but as I shot forward to try to save it, the table was moving further and further away from me. I tried getting to it with every ounce of my power but shrieked as I saw a needle impale the infant. Within seconds it disintegrated leaving me to collapse on the floor sobbing. A pair of arms comforted me. _

"_It's going to be alright. I'm here for you," the voice comforted. I craned my head up to look at him and smiled. Pietro smiled back and we both leaned in to each other. We were just centimeters away from each other's lips..._

"_Semina?" Alex questioned as he appeared behind us. I looked at him, guilt on my face, and just as he approached us-_"Semina? Hey, babe? Wake up. You're having another nightmare."

My eyes warily opened. It was still dark out so it was probably hours into a new day. I bit my lip as I struggled to breathe correctly. I looked at Alex, who was taken out of his sleep by my restlessness, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I should go." I began to get out of his bed when he stopped me.

"You don't have to go," Alex told me. I started to protest when he placed a soft kiss on my lips. "It's going to be alright, Semina. I'm here for you."

When he said that, I just lost it, I twisted out of his grip and bolted out of the door. My bare feet carried me out of the mansion and to the large oak tree overlooking the sea. I dropped to my knees, the wet dew ridden grass cool on my skin, and took deep breathes. The chilly morning air blowing around my body only clad in Alex's t-shirt. The glossy tombstone stared at me, haunting me and reminding me of my loss. Why would I dream of something like this all of a sudden? What are my nightmares trying to tell me?

A/N: What _do_ Semina's nightmares mean? Next up, let's have a look at their joint training session and try to have some trouble on both human and mutant sides. Don't forget to REVIEW this chappie!


	5. Trouble Rears It's Ugly Head

Disclaimer: Stop rubbing it in okay disclaimer! I don't own X-Men: Evolution so you can't sue me!

A/N: I'M SO SOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRY! I haven't posted anything new in what two months? Schoolwork has consumed any free time I had to update so here's a very long overdue chappie! I hope I haven't lost too many readers, ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Trouble Rears It's Ugly Head

My fingers traced the engraved rose on the tombstone with remorse. If there was anything I could've done to save this baby, I would have done it in a heartbeat. Beast said talking would help me cope so that's what I planned on doing.

"Hi, baby. It's mommy," I hollowly chuckled at the prospect of being a mother, tears already forming in my eyes. "It's been a while since I visited you. Two years actually. I just couldn't bring myself to visit your grave because I-I still don't know how to deal with this. If I only could've known I was carrying you, you would probably be in my arms right now. A playful little two year old boy or girl. I bet you'd be pretty like me or handsome like your father. You would have our stubbornness, our strong fighting spirit and our loving hearts. More from me than your father though. He isn't exactly the most heartfelt person. But I know he would've loved you just as strongly as he loved me. If you had been born, I'd probably be with Pietro to this day, you know if he chose to stay with me. I can't help thinking how different things would be with you in my life."

A sad giggle was let out of my throat. "I'd probably spoil you rotten. I'd buy you toys and clothes and I'd love you more than life itself. Your first steps and first words would have been recorded so I could watch it over and over again. You'd be tuckered out from playing with everyone and fall asleep in my arms while your father wrapped us in his. A little happy family. Just the three of us." Quiet sobs made my shoulders shake. "I just want you to know that I miss you everyday. And that I-I really wish that I could have been your mother."

The tears flowed down full force, never once stopping. I sniffled as I stared at the headstone. My baby...Pietro's baby..._our_ baby gone forever.

"Semina, there you are," Alex exclaimed as he ran up to me. He draped a blanket over my shoulders to keep me from getting any colder. I didn't realize how frigid I was until the blanket's warmth began to heat me up. Alex looked at the headstone. "Who's headstone is that?"

I never exactly told Alex about the baby or what happened at Trask's lab because I didn't want to bring up unwanted memories. I even asked everyone in the mansion to keep it to themselves until I was ready to tell him myself. I guess now was as good a time as any. "Alex, there's something I should tell you..." And just like that I told Alex what I've been hiding from him for two years. It's like the words poured out my mouth like a dam as I explained the serum, losing my powers and the baby. I felt as though a giant weight was lifted from my shoulders but Alex's face was contorted in disbelief.

"Why did you want to keep this from me?" Alex asked, his brown eyes searching for an answer on my face. I had no actual reasoning except that I didn't want him to think I was the type of girl who was reckless and stupid. I looked away from him and shrugged. "Is this what your nightmare was about?" I nodded. "Semina, I'm your boyfriend. You can tell me what's happening with you and I wouldn't see you any differently than I see you now. Just don't keep anymore secrets from me, okay?"

The end of my nightmare screamed to be told to Alex but I brushed it aside as I nodded again. "Wanna go for a walk before we have to head to training?"

"Lead the way, babe," Alex smiled.

In the Danger Room

After everyone arrived in the Danger Room, the instructors all gathered in the control room to tell us what we were going to be doing.

"Today we're going to put you in a terrain simulation," Storm explained. "Each team will pick one place to send the opposite team to. The objective is to hit the off switch on the programming. There will be many obstacles to face; some real and some fake. The team that hits the switch first or with the last person standing wins. Team Alpha and Team Beta, please consult with your teammates and choose the destinations."

My team huddled and discussed where to send them. Cyclops spoke first. "We have to send them somewhere where there powers will be useless to them."

"Why not to a forest?" Shadowcat suggested.

"Wolfsbane could easily find her way around the forest," Rogue disagreed. "What about a jungle?"

"Sunspot's powers come from the sun so that would be no good," Stone voiced. "The place has to be someplace almost no member can use their full powers in."

"Like a dry and dark place," Jean agreed.

"I got it!" I exclaimed. "A cave. No water to pull from the air, so Iceman can't use his powers. No source of light, so Sunspot can't use his powers. And not many places Cannonball can go without causing a cave in."

Cyclops shook his head approvingly as the rest of the teams agreed with my suggestion.

"Time's up!" Storm called out. "Team Alpha, where are you sending Team Beta?"

"A cave," Cyclops called back to her. Team Beta stared daggers at us for sending them to such a bad terrain but my sister smiled. I couldn't even imagine where they were going to send us.

"Team Beta, where is Team Alpha being sent to?" Storm asked.

"A desert," Siren answered.

My eyebrows made a V as I huffed angrily. If I were in her shoes I'd probably send us there too. No water for me and, because he can't control sand, no rock for Stone. Touche, older sister, touche indeed.

"The session will start in three...two...one." A metal wall rose as a divider between our two teams and the simulation was underway. The Danger had gotten some major upgrades so it was actually like we were in a desert. There was sand underneath our feet, the sun was beating down hard and there wasn't a drop of water in the air.

"Vhat's zhe plan?" Nightcrawler asked.

Cyclops pointed to the far side of the desert. "We head in that direction. The sun is the brightest that way so that's most likely where the switch is."

"And we're going to have to walk to get there aren't we?" I whined.

Shadowcat groaned. "Well that sucks."

X-23 pushed ahead of all of us and said "Quit your complaining and let's get moving"

We looked her back as she walked away and had no other choice but to follow.

"It's amazing how much the Danger Room has been improved," Shadowcat marveled. She kicked at the sand around our feet. "It seems that just yesterday this place was just a metal room for simple training."

"Check out the cactus over there," Stone added. "No way that's real." He jogged over to it and touched it. He immediately pulled his hand away and let out a tiny yelp. He wasn't in his rock form so if it was real that must've hurt. A high pitched squeak of "It's real" gave us our answer.

We chuckled and even X-23 managed to smile. Or it could have been a scowl. With her and Logan you can never tell. Suddenly her ears perked up. "Did you hear that?" X-23 asked. "The wind is picking up."

"Sandstorm!" Jean shouted. Sure enough a cyclone of sand and wind was blowing in our direction. Within seconds, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, X-23 and myself were swept into it.

"Ahh! Get us down from here!" I shouted as we were spun around and around. My face was probably turning green from all those waffles I scarfed down from breakfast. "I'm gonna be sick!"

Jean used her telekinesis to slow down the rotation of the sandstorm. Without the harsh force keeping us spinning we started to fall back toward the floor. Rogue and Shadowcat latched onto Nightcrawler and 'ported to the ground, Stone made a diving catch for X-23 and Angel scooped me up before I hit the ground.

"Thanks for the save, Angel," I grinned. Things between Warren and I had improved since he first moved in a year ago. The past was forgotten and we became good friends. "Where would I be without you?"

Angel made a whistling noise then exclaimed "Splat!"

"Oh ha ha," I sarcastically said with an air of a giggle in my voice. I lightly nudged him with my shoulder and turned toward Cyclops. "Shall we continue?"

We continued making our way toward the off switch and voiced one of my many thoughts. "So a real sandstorm? The professor must really be pulling out the stops."

"You do know that it'll only get better from here right?" Jean added, wiping sweat from her brow. "Next thing you know there might be living breathing animals in here."

"I hope not," Shadowcat exclaimed as her hand was rapidly fanning her sweating face. "I'd rather take on robots than a pack of coyotes or something."

"Been there, done that," Cyclops said with a smile. We all chuckled. It was one of those rare moments when Scott decided to drop a joke on us. "Not the funnest day in Mexico, I might add."

Rogue stopped in her tracks and panted. "Hey? Has anyone else noticed that it's been getting hotter and hotter the further we go?"

"It's torture for someone covered head to toe in fur," Nightcrawler huffed. "I hope zat ve reached zhat button before I fry."

Just thinking about the heat made me lick my lips. "The fact that there's no water in here is unbearable."

Stone clapped his hands. "Yes there is. Look over there." He pointed directly ahead of us at what appeared to be a small pool of water. I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes. This has to be some sort of hallucination right? It just had to be because I didn't sense any pools of water in here. But nonetheless Stone and Nightcrawler dashed madly for it. I called for them to stop but just before I could even get "It's an illusion!" out they fell through the ground. That "water" had a sand trap set in front of it that sent both mutants into the sand, sort of like a trap door if you will.

"Should we go and dig them out?" Angel asked.

X-23 answered before Cyclops could even form a sentence. "No. We can't lose sight of the objective. My guess is they're probably not even in the Danger Room anymore."

'Last time I checked Scott didn't die and she wasn't made the leader,' I thought as my eyes bore into the back of her head in annoyance. Who does she think she is giving out orders like that?

Pushing on once more, despite the unrelenting heat, we soon approached the wall with the shut down button located a couple of feet ahead of us. But as I assumed, no way was it going to be _that_ easy. One could only imagine what was about to be thrown our way. And sure enough, the sand in front of us started shifting and a large bump appeared under it.

I gasped. "What is _that_?"

That bump sprang up from it's hiding place under the sand and this is where my fear was put to the test. Before us stood a giant animatronic wolf spider. It looked realistic right down to the brown fur covering it's body. I gaped at it before letting out a scream and before I knew it I was getting woozy. Seconds later, I fainted. A spider, real or not, was enough to make me pass out or go crazy. At least with me being passed out, the team wouldn't have to suffer my screams of horror or my hysteria.

"Why did it have to be a giant spider?" Cyclops groaned as he picked up my unconscious body and draped it over his shoulder. "Why not a snake or a scorpion? But _no_, it had to be something to make her pass out. Just our luck."

"We can do this without her," X-23 stated as she took a running start at the spider. She extended her claws and sliced off one of the legs with ease. The spider retaliated by spitting some sort of web that wrapped X-23 up. However, the web wasn't able to hold her as her claws cut through it to free her.

"We have to find its weak spot," Jean told them. "Look for places that it can't defend."

The spider lifted one of it's legs and brought it down to strike Rogue. Shadowcat grabbed her hand to phase her through it. Cyclops deposited Tsunami's body in a safe place furthest away from the spider and shot a beam at it that hit directly under its thorax. The spider flew back and landed on it's back. It's seven legs twitched in the air as it tried to get up.

"That's it!" Cyclops yelled. "Aim for it's abdomen!"

The spider somehow managed to roll back to its feet and once again charged for them. As Angel flew around it for its attention, Jean, Cyclops and X-23 went on the offensive.

"Shadowcat, Rogue, go hit the switch," Cyclops called to them as he fired out three beams of optic energy at the spider. Each one landing in the same spot as before.

By weakening this one spot, the spider would be easier to defeat. The spider faltered but soon enough it shot out a web that covered Angel's wings causing him to fall from the air. Angel tried to get airborne again but the sticky web wasn't letting him flap his wings. Jean used her telekinesis to levitate X-23 off the ground and send her toward the spider. With both sets of adamantium claws extended, X-23 flew directly toward the weakened spot. But before she could even impale the spider, it spun around and used its leg to swat her against the wall. The impact was hard and as X-23 slumped down the wall, she rubbed the back of her head. Just as the spider was about to shoot out a web, it stopped moving in mid step. Shadowcat and Rogue had successfully switched off the programming and the Danger Room began to return to normal.

"We have a winner," Storm said into the mic. "Congratulations Team Alpha."

The metal wall dividing the Danger Room slowly came down to reveal Team Beta. Some of the members were missing but that mystery was cleared up as the instructors entered with them in tow. Sunspot, Boom-Boom, Polaris and Cannonball all walked in behind Storm looking irritated and slightly embarrassed for being eliminated.

"After watching both teams, I'm happy to say that all of you seem to be cooperating with each other," Professor X smiled. "Each of you has astounding power on your own but when put together with the powers of and skills of your teammates, the limit to what you can do as a team is worthy of praise. I'm very, _very_ proud of you, X-Men. Session dismissed."

Scott waved his brother over to him and gestured toward Semina. When Alex asked what happened, Scott said "She saw a spider."

"Aw, jeez," Alex lightly chuckled. "She can face Magneto with no fear but she freaks when she sees a spider. Mina's a real piece of work, bro."

"In her defense, it was a really big spider," Scott retorted. "Take her up to her room, will ya?"

Alex carefully picked Semina up and escorted her to her room. Once he got there, he slowly laid her on her bed and looked down at her still form. Alex lightly shook her shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. Little did he know what was about to happen.

I felt something shaking me and my instincts kicked in. Without even opening my eyes and still thinking I was in the Danger Room, I pulled water from the air and froze what I thought was that spider. Imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes and saw Alex looking down at me from his place on the ceiling. I covered my mouth, first in shock but then to contain laughter.

"Are you laughing about this?" he yelled down.

"I'm sorry. It's just I can't believe I froze my boyfriend to the ceiling," I answered between laughs. "I'll get you down eventually."

"What do you mean eventually?" Alex asked, trying to struggle in his ice coffin. "Why not now?"

"I have to stop laughing first," I guffawed. "Oh, wait! Let me get my camera. I never want to forget this."

"You can't be serious!" Alex shouted. "GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

Alex's shouts made a couple of nosy housemates peer into my open door in curiosity.

"What are you doing up there, Alex?" LaToya tittered.

"Do you think I'm up here by choice?" Alex asked in rhetoric.

Kurt laughed probably, remembering the time I froze him to the wall and asked "You startled her, didn't you?" Alex sighed and nodded. "She tends to freeze whoever does zhat. Vhy hasn't she gotten you down yet?"

I finished searching through my drawers and pulled out my camera. "For some reason I find this hilarious and I want to take a picture. Say cheese, baby."

"Come on, Mina," Alex groaned. "This is embarrassing!"

After taking a couple of pictures I finally decided to let Alex down. I unfroze the ice and used the water to make a platform that brought him toward the ground.

"I'd like to speak with Mina alone," Alex coolly said toward the small crowd. After they dispersed, feelings of guilt hit me. But was he really angry over this? Alex looked at me with intense eyes before smiling. Before I say anything, his hands came toward me and began tickling my ribcage.

"S-stop it! Ooh, Alex. I'm so gonna get you for this," I half-heartedly threatened as I giggled madly.

"Not until you say you're sorry," Alex said in a sing-song voice. "Say it."

"No," I stubbornly replied. I was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of my eyes.

"Say it and I'll stop," Alex said. His assault was unrelenting but I was determined to get through it.

After resisting for at least thirty seconds more I finally caved. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Just stop tickling me!" Alex stopped his tickle attack and my laughter died down. "Catching me off guard was so not fair."

"Neither is this," Alex smiled before pulling me toward him, wrapping me in his arms and kissing me in one fell swoop. "But you don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," I replied between kisses.

(Lunch is in fifteen minutes everyone,) was the professor's message that echoed through everyone's mind at this moment.

"I should get washed up before lunch," I told Alex. I smiled provocatively and stood up on my tippy-toes to whisper "Care to join me? My shower's big enough for two."

Alex kissed me before saying "We may be advanced human beings but not even we can do it in just fifteen minutes. I want our first time together to be special and perfect." Alex pulled me closer to him and in turn whispered in my ear. "Besides, we'll need much more time than that."

Goosebumps popped up on my skin and I kissed him one last time before getting ready for lunch. After showering and changing into a pair of sweats and a tank top, I headed to the dining room. The smell of lasagna permeated the air and made my stomach growl with anticipation. I took a seat next to Alex and kissed his cheek for looking down at my plate of lasagna and a side salad that was set next to it in a bowl. I was only halfway done when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. When I looked at the restricted number on the screen, I instantly knew who it was. I hastily excused myself from the table an ducked into the closet in the foyer to answer the call. Everyone at the table was at a loss for words at my strange behavior but this knowing this person and given the time, the call must be important.

"What the hell are you doing calling me in the middle of the day?" I hissed. "I thought I told you we could only speak at nighttime, so this better be damn good."

"If I were you, I'd try to to sound a little more enthusiastic," the voice on the other line replied. "Especially with the information I'm about to give you."

"Okay, I'll bite," I huffed. "What's he up to this time?"

"Mayor Kelly will be holding an opening ceremony," the voice explained.

"Ceremony for what?" I asked.

The voice paused for a brief moment before saying "He's opening another MRD facility."

My world froze and I felt the horrible feeling of dread gurgling in my stomach. "When is the ceremony?"

"In ten minutes," the voice answered. "I never thought Mayor Kelly would build another MRD facility. Especially with the amount of money he spent to build the first one. And how he found more people to join it is beyond me."

"Wait a second. What did you just say?" I questioned.

"How he found more-" the voice began before I asked for not that but the other thing. "I was talking about the amount of money he spent to build the first facility."

"Yes that. Where did he get the money to build the first one?" I asked. "The citizens of Bayville refused to give a cent so where _did_ he get the money?"

"Rumor has it, he has friends in high places," the voice replied.

A bang at the closet door caused me sputter out a goodbye before I fumbled to hit "end". Logan opened the door and looked at me with suspicious eyes. "What're doing in here, sprinkler? Who was that on the phone?"

"No one important," I answered as I brushed past him. I made it to the living room and flipped on the T.V. I flipped through the channels until I found the one with Bayville News. Just s the voice on the other line had said, the announcement of the ceremony was on. Logan read the title at the bottom of the screen and called the X-Men in the living room.

"I'm here live at Bayville City Hall and we are just moments away from the unveiling ceremony for what Mayor Kelly says will be another step forward in the protection of the citizens from the mutant menace," the reporter said. "What exactly does our mayor have planned for us? We'll be bringing you live coverage through it all. This is Judy Georges reporting."

"A ceremony for what?" Scott asked.

"He's opening another MRD facility," I answered making all eyes fall on me.

"How do you know?" Ororo asked.

"Word gets around," came my vaguely worded reply. Before they could ask anymore questions I wasn't going to answer in the first place, the news report came back. "Shh, it's back."

The camera zoomed in on the face of the mutant hater himself and he opened his mouth to speak. "I want to welcome you all to the opening ceremony of Bayville's newest Mutant Response Division facility. However this facility is very different from the first one. The guards of this facility have new and improved technology. The guns they carry are used only in emergency but these new guns are now completely harmless if used on humans and now shoot paralysis goo that will trap any rogue mutants without hurting them."

The camera then zoomed in on a line of guards carrying their new weaponry. I used the DVR feature on the remote and hit pause. "You see that?" Everyone focused on the guns with the tiny green vials in them. "Those guns do much more than what Mayor Kelly says they do."

"That tech is made by Trask," Rogue said. "I mean paralysis goo? The Sentinels he made shot out the same thing."

"You know with news like this open to the public, we all know who'll be making an appearance at this ceremony," I seethed. "I hate Magneto but if he destroys the new facility isn't that some sort of greater good? I say let him have a freaking filed day with it."

"Semina, you know Magneto wouldn't refrain from doing much more than just destroying the facility," Professor X sternly said with a look of slight disappointment with my mindset. "Lives will be put on the line."

"And if Mayor Kelly's life is on the line, should we lift a finger to save him?" I retorted, my earlier fear giving way to unconventional ire. "I say we let Magneto take care of him. Bayville would be better off without him."

"Semina, that is enough," Professor X very firmly said as he hit the arm of his wheelchair. "You cannot let your hatred for Trask get in the way of doing what's right. If the situation comes to the point where Mayor Kelly needs to be saved, then by all means the X-Men are going to save him. Intentionally letting Magneto do this will only worsen the image of mutants in the public eye. And right now that is not an option."

I took three deep breathes before grumbling "I understand, professor."

"So how long do you anticipate for Magneto to show up?" Ororo asked.

The professor looked deep in thought for a moment before saying "It won't take him long to arrive so I want everyone suited up and standing by as soon as possible."

After a speedy outfit change we doubled back to the living room, our eyes glued to the TV waiting for any sign of trouble.

The reporters face popped back on the screen as the camera man zoomed away from the mayor. "And here to cut the ceremonial ribbon to our new facility is the head of the MRD, Director-what the? AHH!" The screen went black for a moment before a familiar face reappeared on screen.

"G'day! We interrupt this broadcast for some breaking news," the orange-haired Aussie arson said. "The new MRD facility _isn't_ going to be opened as planned. It appears there's some fire damage." Pyro cackled while screams were heard in the background along with Sabertooth's distinctive roar and a couple of explosions. "We now return you to the program already in progress." The screen once again turned black and we stood there gaping for just a moment before kicking it into gear and rushing to city hall. For me, reluctantly I might add. Because where there's Magneto and his Acolytes, the Brotherhood is bound to be close by.

At City Hall

Pyro laughed as the fire dragon he created set most of city hall ablaze while Sabertooth terrorized the innocent people in the crowd. Chaos was by far the understatement of the year to describe what was happening. As for now, Gambit, Colossus and the Brotherhood were no where in sight. Not as much could be said about Magneto though.

"Ready!" the head guard yelled as his squadron cocked their guns. "Aim!" They lined up their shots at Magneto but before "fire" could even be yelled, Magneto dismantled every gun aimed at him with just a simple wave of the hand. Sputtering out a retreat to his men, the head guard scrambled to get away from the dangerous mutant as quickly as possible only to be trapped by the guns Magneto dismantled only moments ago.

Magneto floated to the ground, his cape waving behind him, and with an intimidating stature walked over to the guard. "Where is Mayor Kelly?"

Despite the undeniable fear that bubbled inside of him, the guard sternly said "I'll never tell you." A frightened look crossed his face when he heard the master of magnetism chuckle.

"I have ways of making you talk," Magneto crossly yet at the same time calmly stated as he began to tighten the metal prison around him. "Now, I'll ask again. Where. Is. Mayor. Kelly?"

In a tight and pain gripped voice the guard mumbled "In the new MRD building. He's under heavy guard. You'll never make it past them."

Without so much of a retort, Magneto floated away toward the MRD facility.

"I sense a fleeting number of people leaving city hall and at least seventy maybe eighty minds in the new MRD facility," I said to my teammates over our com-links. "Where do you want us Cyclops?"

"Wolverine, Tsunami, Havok, Nightcrawler, Angel, Rogue, Stone, Shadowcat, Iceman, X-23, Polaris, Jean and I will take the MRD facility," Cyclops announced. "The rest of you head to city hall."

Upon arriving to the newly built facility the first thing I noticed was the front door was ripped right off the hinges by Colossus no doubt. The next thing was the sound of one explosion after another and the last was the sound of gunfire. Rushing toward the noises to a spacious room, what I presumed was the training area, I saw guards firing in every direction at the last two Acolytes as well as the Brotherhood, save Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch who were probably with their father.

'Yup, just as I expected,' I thought watching them avoid getting hit by both bullets or paralysis goo. 'But wait a minute...'

"Anyone else see a couple of people missing?" I voiced. "Namely Mayor Kelly and Magneto. Where could they have run off to?"

"Follow the path of destruction," Stone spoke up.

"There's no time for quotes of wisdom, Stone," I said. "We're kind of in the middle of something."

"No I _literally_ mean follow the path of destruction," Stone repeated as he pointed toward a corridor that was trashed with bullet dents and metal that's been ripped from the wall. "Magneto's got to be that way."

"Rogue, Shadowcat, Angel, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Polaris and X-23 stay here and deal with Magneto's flunkies," Cyclops commanded. "We'll take care of Magneto."

Carefully tactfully moving through the corridor, we came upon a metal wall. No door, no window or other point of entry.

"They're behind here," Jean said with a hand to her temple. "Magneto must've fused the door to the wall with his powers."

My brother cracked his knuckles and cockily boasted "I got this" before placing a hand on the wall. His entire body became metal and with a punch he sent a crater into the wall. He used both hands and pushed the wall open leaving a large hole for us to go through. Inside of what looked to be an office we found Magneto and his two children along with Mayor Kelly behind the head of the MRD herself. Her gun was withdrawn and pointed directly at Magneto.

"You have until the count of three to leave this facility," she barked. "Or I will shoot with no hesitation."

"Shoot-with-what?" Quicksilver asked as he zoomed over and grabbed her gun in the blink of an eye. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was this yours?"

"Damn you, Maximoff," she growled. "Just as obnoxious as I remember."

"Enough with the games," Magneto firmly said. He shot some metal restraints out of the wall and pinned the head of the MRD to the wall successfully moving her out of Magneto's path to Mayor Kelly.

"Magneto, let her go!" Stone yelled as he charged for the magnetic mutant. Before he could even reach him, the Scarlet Witch sent a hex bolt at him slamming him into the desk of the office.

"Sorry X-Men but Magneto's a little busy," spoke Quicksilver. "Why don't you play with me instead?" Quicksilver spun around creating one of his infamous twisters leaving us to grab onto the nearest thing for dear life.

First instinct led me to grab Alex's hand while he grabbed a metal support beam.

"Don't let me go, Alex!" I called to him.

"I wouldn't dream of it babe!" he called back. We held each others hands tighter but the force of twister became more powerful. "Don't let go Mina!"

"I'm trying not to but I'm slipping," I shouted. I used my other hand to grip his arm and that kept me latched to him but soon after Alex lost his grip on the support beam and we both flew into the twister, never once letting each other go. We went round and round in the air tunnel but soon a problem occurred. With us being trapped in the vortex of air, our air supply was slowly dwindling.

'Can't...breathe,' I thought while gasping for oxygen. 'Need...air.'

(Alex...I-I can't...breathe,) I weakly projected.

(Me...either,) he replied, his telepathic words barely audible in my head.

(Aim for Quicksilver,) I urged. (He's b-below us. P-please-) I couldn't even finish my sentence because there was only so much oxygen that was reaching my brain. Without it I couldn't move let alone use my telepathy. Either Alex hit Quicksilver or Cyclops did because soon the twister stopped spinning and Alex and I hit the ground. I took a huge breathe of air, coughing as my lung got situated to the flow of it and weakly crawled over to Havok.

"Alex, baby, are you okay?"

He coughed and hacked until he finally got some air going through his lungs. "Never mind me, I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm okay," I replied a small smile finding its way on my face. "Glad to see you are too."

"Pietro!" came the frightened shriek of the Scarlet Witch. As I whipped my head toward her I saw Wanda dashing to her brother's side who lay on the floor, unconscious. A concussion blast from one of the Summers couldn't have knocked him out like that especially with all the times he's been hit by one. Then I realized what had happened. No one hit Quicksilver to stop the twister, he had just stopped. The idiot must've forgot that whatever damage happens to my body, he'll feel it too. Pietro should be fine when he wakes up but I hate that no matter how much I try to resist caring about him, I still do. I glanced over to the director of the MRD and saw that Stone was breaking the metal restraints around her wrists and ankles. Now that everyone was safe the only person left to be concerned about was Magneto.

"Put Mayor Kelly down, Magneto!" Cyclops commanded as I witness the master of magnetism lift Mayor Kelly into the air.

"What do you want with me?" Mayor Kelly callously growled.

"You have information that I require," Magneto answered. "What are you and Bolivar Trask up to?"

Mayor Kelly looked shocked for a moment as if there was some big secret he was withholding but it passed as quickly as it came and he replied "That's classified information."

Sharp spikes shot out from the wall behind Mayor Kelly. Magneto turned him toward them and his face drained of all color. "Then unclassify it."

"All you need to know is that you muties are in for a wake up call," Mayor Kelly cackled.

Angered at his impudence, Magneto threw Mayor Kelly toward the spike ridden wall. Although it was the right thing to do, I made no effort to save him from certain death. Why should I have to save someone who in turn would just let me die or kill me himself? Had it not been for Jean stopping him just before impact, Bayville would have needed a new mayor.

"It's over Magneto," Jean said. "Leave while you still have the chance. We don't want to hurt you."

"Speak for yourself," I piped up. "I'd do much more than just hurt Magneto."

Magneto gave a throaty chuckle. "You know, Semina, someone should teach you to only speak when spoken to. It's rude to interrupt a conversation."

"I get it from my aunt," I smirked. "But you would know all about that wouldn't you?"

Rage filled Magneto's face and in retaliation he began to gather to metal objects to make maces that he launched at me.

"Don't even think about it Magneto!" Havok shouted as he immediately stood in front of me. In an act of defense blasted each one away to disable the danger.

"Ah, the dutiful boyfriend," Magneto said. "If you want to protect her so badly so be it!"

The room shook as all the metal in the room caved down on everyone. Alex throw his body over me and I couldn't help but think 'Talk about deja vu' as I heard the rest of the metal debris clank to the floor.

"Just like old times," Alex smiled before letting out a groan.

"You're hurt aren't you?" I asked as my heart beating a little faster from panic. "How bad is it?"

"It's nothing. It's just my back really hurts," he retorted in a tightly gripped voice. "No big deal."

"No big deal? As soon as we get out from under here I'll heal you okay? I mean come on, this is what the hundredth time you've saved my life?"

"A hundred and three but who's counting?" Alex replied. He laughed for a moment before wincing.

"Everything is gonna be okay," I reassured before quickly pecking him.

(How is everyone?) I projected. (Is anyone buried?)

(I'm fine,) Wolverine answered first.

(I'm alright,) Stone replied. (So is the director. She's right here next to me.)

(Scott and I are okay too,) came Jean's response.

(Since everyone is okay, can someone get us out from under this rubble? Alex is hurt.)

"They're gonna get us out from under here, Alex," I told him. "Don't die on me."

Alex laughed. "Semina, I'm not even close to being _that_ injured. But I think it's cute that you would worry so much."

"I'm your girlfriend, it's my job," I replied.

The metal we were trapped under was lifted and the shine of the lights burned down on us. Stone pulled Alex out first then pulled me out. I directed him to place Alex in an upright sitting position so I could take a look at his injury. A long trail of blood dripped down from the cut in the middle of his back.

"Thank goodness it's just a flesh wound," I breathed in relief. I drew water from the air and wrapped it around my hand. The water glowed an unearthly white as it closed up the wound on Alex's back. "There, all done."

"Thanks babe," Alex said as he turned around to hug me.

"Looks like Magneto escaped," Wolverine pointed out. He sniffed the air and continued. "And so did the Acolytes and the Brotherhood."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Well first you can start by leaving this facility," the director of the MRD sternly voiced. "I think you've done enough here."

"So first we save you then you give us the boot?" I incredulously snapped. "Why not show a little gratitude? You at least owe us that."

"I don't owe you anything," she sneered as she walked toward me and stopped just inches in front of my face. "Now leave."

I stared her down for a moment before Alex lightly tugged on my arm, signaling us to make our departure. As we maneuvered through the debris and filed out of the door, I looked back at the director of the MRD and gave a nod. She nodded back and with that I followed the rest of the X-Men out of the destroyed building.

A/N: Once again sorry for the wait. I've just been so busy! I'm trying my hardest not to put this story on hiatus but if it comes down to it I just might have to. But for now I will be doing my BEST to make sure I keep my readers entertained. Anyway...

What's Mayor Kelly's big secret? What does Trask have to do with it? Who was the person on the phone? Why am I asking you guys these questions you probably have no answer to? OH THE INSANITY! Anyway, hit the little review button (it's been so lonely lately) and tell me what you thought of this chappie!


	6. It Begins

Disclaimer: Try as I may I still don't own X-Men: Evolution so you can't sue me!

A/N: Guess who's baaaaack? I know everyone has their pitchfork and torches ready to attack me for being gone for so long but school is tough! Between sleeping, eating, homework and extracurricular I've had no time to update! BUT NOW IT'S SUMMMERRRR! So expect more updates. I'm so sorry for neglecting you readers but you have to believe I'm trying my best to finish this story. To whoever is still reading this ENJOY!

P.S: This chapter takes place two days after the battle in the last chapter.

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

It Begins

Slivers of light shone in from the partially opened blinds in the office of Henry Peter Gyrich who sat in the leather behind an oak wood desk. Mayor Kelly, who had stormed into the office only a moment ago, angrily slammed a fist on Gyrich's desk knocking over a cup of pens. "I'm sick and tired of these mutants thinking they have the right to do whatever they want! They've destroyed my facility! I thought you said you had the situation under control, Henry."

"Patience, Robert," Gyrich replied in a smooth tone. Before he spoke again he stopped to slowly and calmly pick up the pens and put them back in the container. "Everything _is_ under control. Bolivar Trask and I know what we're doing. It's just a matter of time before these mutants will get their just desserts. "

"How long before the project is up and running?" Kelly asked.

"I've provided Trask with all the necessary funds, equipment and workspace he'll require. At the pace he's working, we should have the first batch of Sentinel Prowlers up and running by the end of the month."

"But that's 27 days away!" Kelly growled. "I want these mutants put in their place as soon as possible!"

"You can't rush him, Robert," Gyrich said. "He won't work any faster that way." Gyrich saw that Kelly's face was still very displeased. "However, Trask already has one fully functioning Sentinel ready for use. It's simply waiting for your orders."

Mayor Kelly smiled a cruel grin and said "How soon can he have it online?"

"Two hours," Gyrich answered.

* * *

><p>A salty breeze blew against me making my hair billow back in the wind. I sipped from a glass of iced tea and released a heavy sigh as I looked out at the ocean. I know that somehow Mayor Kelly's plans have something to do with Henry Peter Gyrich and obviously Bolivar Trask but I had no idea how they could possibly be connected. And what about those people who abducted the Morlocks? The answer is right in front of me, I know it, but I just can't put the pieces together. What I do know is that if we don't stop whatever they're doing, a lot of mutant lives are going to be put in danger.<p>

"Vhat are you doing out here by yourself?" Kurt asked as he appeared behind me. I shrieked and fell forward. Probably wasn't the smartest idea to stand at the very edge of the cliff. Lucky for him my bond with ocean kept me from falling any further. The ocean sent a pillar of water up to stop my fall.

"KURT! WHAT HAVE WE TOLD YOU ABOUT BAMFING UP BEHIND US?" I shouted as I held a hand to my chest in fright.

"Zhat it's annoying," Kurt replied with a guilty smile.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened if I actually fell?" I yelled. I held up my glass of iced tea and said "I could have spilled my drink!" I stepped off the water pillar and back onto the ground as I took a long sip of my drink. "You're a very lucky blue elf, you know that?"

His wide eyed expression turned into one of pure amusement as he fell into laughter. "Of all things to vorry about, you vorried about spilling your drink? Mina, you're too much for me."

"But you love me anyway," I giggled as I playfully hit his arm. "So what did you come to tell me?"

"Oh right," Kurt explained as he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to me. "A letter from Vivian came for you."

"Oooh! Gimme, gimme!" I excitedly squealed as I tore it open. I quickly read through it and shrieked with excitement.

After a very traumatic experience a couple of months ago, I thought it would be best for Aunt Viv to talk a vacation in order to recover. So for the past few months she's been in Monte Carlo far away from the troubles of Bayville.

"Vhat does it say?"

"She said she's going to be home in three days and that she's bringing home a surprise from Monte Carlo!"

"How very exciting!" Kurt exclaimed.

I gave a happy squeal before saying "I can't wait until she gets here! She has to show me all of her vacation pictures and bring me back some souvenirs!"

"I vonder vhat zhat surprise is?" Kurt wondered.

"I hope it's for me!" I squealed once more.

"Enough vith zhe squealing Mina!" Kurt winced. "My ears can't take it!"

"Tee hee, sorry," I apologized. "Hey do you and Toya want to come get lunch with me and Alex? We're headed to that new sushi restaurant in downtown Bayville."

"Of course! I've never had sushi before so let's go!" Kurt smiled.

At the restaurant

"Oh man I haven't had sushi in so long!" Alex said as we sat down, or should I say knelt down, at our table. All of the tables were low to the ground and had pillows instead of chairs.

"Well aren't you happy that I decided to have lunch here?" I cooed before I kissed him.

Alex smiled through the kiss and said (You're the best babe.)

LaToya cleared her throat and said "I came for sushi, not to watch my sister and future brother-in-law suck face."

Alex and I laughed. "Brother-in-law? He didn't even propose!"

"Oh please," LaToya dismissed. "You guys are so getting married. There's no doubt about it."

I blushed and couldn't help but see the reddish hue gracing my boyfriend's cheeks. Don't get me wrong I love Alex, we've been dating for almost a year, but I think I want to live a little more before I decide to settle down. After my embarrassment died down I picked up my menu and scanned through it looking for something good. Everything sounded good so decided to get a sushi platter for all four of us. Alex waved the waitress over but she wasn't very fluent in English so I placed the order for us.

"When did you learn to speak Japanese?" my sister asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh Jean and I have been working on telepathically reading the language center of the brain so we can learn new languages," I explained. "Yeah I picked up Japanese like that. No big deal."

"You never cease to amazing me," Alex said giving me that lopsided grin I love so much.

After a few minutes the waiter came back with our sushi platter. After all it doesn't take that long to prepare sushi, it's not like you have to cook it. We dug into a large platter filled with a large variety of Nigirizushi, Temaki and Makizushi rolls. Kurt even made the mistake of trying to eat a wad of wasabi by itself. Before long we were stuffed and just relaxed in the restaurant as we sipped on green tea. I put my cup down and I noticed something strange. The tea in the cup wasn't still anymore. It was rippling as if the table was being shaken. That's when the ground started to shake.

"Whta's going on?" Alex asked as he wobbled to his feet. He helped me up and tried to hold me steady as the shakes became more chaotic. "Is that Avalanche?"

"It can't be," Kurt said as he held onto LaToya by wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her up. The shakes were even worse than before as they neared the restaurant. "His tremors are different from this. This feels like..." His face paled with fear as he cast me a glance . "...giant footsteps."

My mouth went dry as I let out a whimper. "Oh no."

The ceiling was ripped open causing the blinding sunlight to shine down on us. The glint coming off of the giant red robot obstructed our vision further. Most of the humans fled the restaurant screaming in terror knocking over tables and scrambling to get out of the door. The Sentinel boomed "Alert! Mutants detected! Beginning capture!"

"A SENTINEL? That's impossible! There's no way Trask could have built an operational Sentinel without us knowing!" I yelled as I began to hyperventilate.

It fired a shot of paralysis goo at me but Alex tackled me away in time. LaToya let out a supersonic scream that hit the Sentinel square on but only pushed it back. It retaliated by unleashing all of it's hidden weaponry. Alex charged up some concussion blasts and let out a barrage of blasts on the menacing robot while I sent sharp spears of ice flying toward whatever opening I could find on it. I hit one of it's chest cannons causing the cannon to explode but it retaliated by opening fire. We all began to dodge the pink laser blasts as best we could. I was almost out of the store when I heard a small cry coming from behind me. I looked back and saw a young boy hiding underneath a counter whimpering as tears streamed down his face.

"Oh jeez," I sighed. I could never leave a little kid behind so I yelled to everyone else to hold the Sentinel off for just two minutes.

"Are you insane?" LaToya yelled as she flipped out of the way of a laser. "We don't _have_ two minutes! We barely have one! We need you out here!"

"This won't take long I promise! And try to find a way to contact the rest of the X-Men!" I called back as I carefully made my way toward the frightened child. His whimpering turned into crying as I neared him. "Shh, shh. It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you." I slowly extended my hand to him and he recoiled at the sight of it. "Everything is going to be all right. I'm here to help you sweetie."

The boy sniffled before reluctantly putting his small hand in mine. He couldn't have been older than six years old.

"Let's get you out of here," I said as I picked him up and held him close to me. I made a water disk underneath my feet and lifted us out through the open roof. The Sentinel was busy attacking Kurt, LaToya and Alex so I had time to put the boy down in a safe location.

"You'll be safe here okay?" I assured him as I put him down far away from the Sentinel.

The boy sniffled one more time and quietly said "Thank you super lady."

My heart melted at the those four words. I wiped his tears away with my thumb and smoothed out his hair. "You're welcome. I'm just doing my job." No one has ever thanked me for saving them before so I was very touched by this little boys kind words.

"Get away from my son you mutant freak!" came a loud angry shriek from behind me. A woman in her mid thirties stormed toward me and roughly pushed me out of the way to get to her son. "You just stay away from him!"

"I saved his life! You _could_ be a little more grateful!" I yelled at her. "I think a little thanks is in order."

"I'm not thanking you for anything," she hissed at me. "Your kind doesn't deserve it."

Before I could argue any further I heard Kurt yell "Mina look out!" but the moment I turned around the Sentinel extended it's arm and swatted me into a flower store front. Thorns from roses and shards of glass scratched my skin as I flew through the store and hit my back on the brick wall. Pain radiated though my body as I cried out in pain. Kurt bamfed into the store after me and helped me to my feet.

"How badly are you hurt?"

I spit out some blood and let out a chuckle. "Oh please, I've had worse injuries." I winced and grabbed my back. Nothing was broken but it hurt like hell. "Any luck contacting the X-Men?"

"Nein," he replied shaking his head. "The communicators are down. The Sentinel must be scrambling communications."

"I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way," I said as I put my hands on my temples. (Calling all X-men. This is a code red. I repeat, a code red. A Sentinel has been released in downtown Bayville and we need all of Team Alpha and all of Team Beta to get to our location immediately!)

"I've let everyone know," I said. "They should be here soon."

"But we need help now," Kurt retorted. "There's only four of us against that thing! And you're hurt!"

"I'm fine. I can still fight." I struggled out of his grasp to prove my point. "Let's go. Alex and LaToya need us out there."

Kurt and I ran, well limped in my case, out of the flower shop as fast as we could only to see LaToya on the ground and Alex trapped in paralysis goo. My blood boiled to see him trapped by that mutant hating robot. Police car sirens wailed as they arrived on the scene with news vans in tow.

"How dare you!" I growled as my all the water in the air rose with each step I took toward the Sentinel. "You're going to pay for that." I released ten large buzzsaws that hit the Sentinel and one managed to cut it's wrist off. I conjured up a huge tidal with all the water from the surrounding area and sent it toward the Sentinel. However right before impact, it fired a large beam from it's chest cannon and it was headed straight toward me. But this wasn't like it's ordinary pink laser beam, this one was wracked with electricity and glowed a deadly red color. I tried to jump out of the way but the beam hit me in the left arm, singeing off parts of my flesh and successfully electrocuted half of my body. God only knows how badly I'd be hurt if I was actually hit square on with that beam. I gripped my arm in pain as I watched the Sentinel topple backward and fall. The smell of my own flesh made me want gag up the sushi I just ate. Kurt who had teleported over to my sister to get her out of harm's way returned and looked at my arm.

"I can't leave you alone for two seconds vithout you getting hurt, now can I?" Kurt joked. Always a joker even in the most serious of times.

I wryly laughed and said "Well you know me. I'm a little accident prone." My expression tuned serious as I noticed the Sentinel beginning to move again. "That attack didn't hold it off for long. Where the hell is everyone else?"

"We're right here," Stone said as he jumped out of the X-van.

"Took ya long enough!" I griped as I hit him with my good arm. "We were getting our asses handed to us out here!"

"Well the cavalry had arrived, " he said as he placed a hand on the X-Van, taking the shape of metal. "We can take it from here."

"Mutants! I order you to stand down!" one of the officers shouted as they pointed their guns at us.

"I'm afraid we cannot do that," Storm said. "We're the only ones who can stop it."

"Do I have to repeat myself?" the officer yelled. "Now I ordered you to stand down."

In a blink Wolverine had his claws extended at the police officer and he said "Listen here bub. Unless you and your officers want to take down this giant robot by yourself, be my guest. Otherwise back up and let us take care of it."

The officer kept his stubborn stance but eventually put down his gun and put up his hand. "Stand down men."

Both Team Alpha and Team Beta ran into the battle but I had to talk to Scott first. "Cyclops!" He walked over to me and I pointed at Alex. "I couldn't get to him in time. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Cyclops sternly said. "And don't you dare think it is. We'll get him out."

I nodded as he ran into the fray. I limped over to the X-Van with Kurt an unconscious LaToya and we leaned against it.

I huffed angrily and looked at the rest of my team fighting. "I hate sitting out on the sidelines. I want to go back."

"You've had enough fighting for one day. Let the rest of the team handle it. We'll know if they need our help or not."

The Sentinel shot out paralysis goo and managed to get Iceman, Angel, Berserker and even Jean. Cyclops was so infuriated that he took off his visor and faced the Sentinel full force. The robots metal plating began to peel back as Cyclops's blast hit it but soon enough the toll of using his powers like that weighed heavily on Cyclops so he had to put his visor back on. Weakened, he dropped to his knee but any attack the Sentinel tried to make on him was countered by both Wolverine and X-23. Their adamantium claws ripped into the Sentinel wires and began to short out the robot. But then something that none of us expected to happen happened. The Sentinel began to spilt down the middle until it was at two even halves.

"Is it over?" Kurt asked aloud.

"Not by a long shot, elf," Wolverine growled as the Sentinel began to shoot wires out from each half. We watched in horror as the one giant Sentinel became two smaller ones.

"But how?" Storm asked.

"Trask is getting more advanced with his robots," Beast said. "More sophisticated, more deadly."

"We have to end this NOW!" Wolverine shouted as he and X-23 began their attack once more. They split up and each took a different robot, Wolverine on the left and X-23 on the right, as the remaining mutants followed their lead. Just because the Sentinels were multiplied by two didn't mean they were any more powerful. I figure that Trask hasn't figured out how to keep the Sentinels from spliting their power source.

"I'm going back in," I announced as I pushed myself off of the X-Van. While everyone else was fighting I took my time on the sidelines as an opportunity to heal my arm. "I can't stand by and let this happen."

Kurt wanted to protest but he already knew my mind was made up. I checked to see if my arm was okay and even though it was a little sore it worked fine. I coated my body in a suit of ice and charged toward the Sentinel on the left. I tuned my hands into axes and chopped at the Sentinel's shoulder trying to get the robot to shut down completely but it grabbed me and threw me across down the street we were fighting on. A flash of blue appeared and lo and behold it was the speedster himself. He caught me in his arms before I even hit the ground and smirked at me.

I scowled and dryly said "You're late. You knew I was in trouble but you took your sweet time getting here."

"I was in the middle of a very important matter," Quicksilver replied as he put me down.

I scoffed "What's her name?" He gave me an amused laugh and I quickly added "Not that I care."

"Maria," he replied with a knowing smile. "Really feisty, just like you." Pietro touched my chin affectionately but I swatted his hand away. "See?"

A large boom sounded and I tuned around to see a missile that fired from one of the Sentinels being turned back on itself by Stone successfully bringing down one Sentinel. Unfortunately the other Sentinel was still putting up a fight and both Magma and Boom Boom got trapped in the paralysis goo. I recreated my ice suit and began to walk back into the battle. I looked back at Pietro and yelled "Might as well make yourself useful while you're here!"

He shot me a glance before scoffing "I'm not obligated to help just because you asked me."

"Fine then," I huffed. "Be a stubborn little prick! I don't need your help."

I used my ice suit to levitate through the air directly toward the Sentinel. At the last second I was planning on turning the suit back into water and cutting the Sentinel's head off with a water disk but the Sentinel fired lasers out of its eyes directly at me.

'What, now the thing shoots lasers out of it's eyes?' I thought as I plummeted to the ground once again. 'If it's even possible, I hate Trask even more.'

Once again Pietro decided to save me. "How many times am I going to have to save you?"

"I never asked you to save me," I barked at him. "I don't need your help and I don't need you. So go on back to Maria and have yourself a jolly good time. The X-Men can handle this."

"Aww that's cute," Pietro cooed as he pinched my cheek. "Is somebody jealous?"

"Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?" I snorted. "Wait a second. Sound! That's it! Pietro you're a genius!"

"I know," Pietro bragged. "Why am I genius again?"

Ignoring him I ran over to the X-Van where Kurt was tending to my sister who had woken up not too long ago.

"Sis, I need your help," I said. I opened the door to the X-Van and put a passcode in the computer. Out from the back of the van popped a large spherical cone attached to a seat. "Remember how the van was getting it's monthly upgrades last week? Well I watched Beast and Forge put in this baby." I patted the large device and grinned.

"What is it?" my sister asked.

"It's an amplifier," I replied.

LaToya laughed. "Are you planning on blasting Skrillex at the Sentinel to make it stop?"

"It's not that kind of amplifier," I replied. "It was specifically designed to alter sound waves. I need you to let out a supersonic scream and if it works properly I can increase it's pitch to short out the Sentinel."

"Vhat do you mean if?" Kurt asked.

I sheepishly mumbled "It hasn't exactly been tested yet. But I assure you it'll work!"

"I don't know if-," LaToya began before the remaining Sentinel sent out a wave of missiles. I created an ice shield that just barely stopped one of them. "Okay let's try it."

I quickly set up the system and gave her the thumbs up. She unleashed a scream and boosted the pitch until her scream was a very loud and annoying whining noise. Everyone grabbed their ears in pain as the noise resonated around us. The Sentinel began to shake and whir until it's eyes no longer glowed and completely shut down. It toppled backwards and lay still as it hit the ground. I quickly turned off the device and hopped down from the seat. I let out a sigh because I knew it was finally over.

"Is everybody okay?" I called out.

"Except for those of us who were trapped it seems that we're all all right," Beast replied. "Minor injuries at the most."

I walked over to my boyfriend's still figure and touched the hard green prison. "You can get him out right?"

"Kitty should be able to phase him and everyone else out without a problem," Beast assured as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. Let's get everyone to the mansion."

Pietro watched as Semina longing stared at Alex. He couldn't help but feel...bothered by the look in her eyes.

At the Mansion

I soaked myself in a tub of water in the med bay as I watched everyone get patched up by Hank and Ororo. Healing my own injuries was taking longer than I expected. I guess the battle drained me more than I thought. I was almost finished so when my injuries were completely healed I figured I would give Hank and Ororo a hand with the first aid, after all I am studying to be a doctor. I pulled on some sweats when all of my cuts closed all and got out of the tub. I drained the water and refilled the water for the next person who needed healing. I saw Kitty had finished pulling everyone out of the goo and I ran over and hugged Alex.

"Alex! Are you hurt? Do you feel okay?" I asked as I squeezed him.

"I'm okay! But I think you're going to break me in half," Alex responded through a strained voice. I let him go and looked embarrassed. "Hey I never said let go."

I grinned then kissed him as I held my grip on him. "I was so scared."

"Don't worry, I'm a big strong guy," Alex laughed. "I would have found a way out just to make it back to you."

My cheeks turned red as I kissed him again. "Come on, let's get you healed up." I guided him over to the tub and as he pulled off his shirt I let out a wolf whistle and playfully asked "Should I bring out the singles now or later?"

"Later," he replied. He them leaned in to whisper into my ear. "So I can give you a _private_ show."

I laughed and blushed again and I instructed him to get into the tub. I put both of my hands into the water and it began to glow white as I began to heal him.

"Whoa...this is a little...trippy," Alex uneasily said as he looked at the glowing water. "I feel all of my wounds closing at the same time."

"I'm a healer! And last time I checked wounds closing up was a good thing," I chortled. "Just relax. You'll feel them all close up and all the pain will be gone."

A few minutes passed and I was finished healing Alex. He got out of the tub and I helped him dry off. The professor and Logan walked in with stern looks on their faces and asked me, hank, Ororo and Alex to come with them. They took us to the conference room where Scott, Jean, Kurt and LaToya waited for us. I already knew what we were here to talk about. Professor X asked what happened and we retold the events of our ruined lunch.

"While we're on the subject of the Sentinel," I began. "I couldn't help but notice that it's gotten a few upgrades."

"Yeah, since vhen does zhe Sentinel split in two?" Kurt asked.

"And the freaking laser eyes?" I chimed in. "Not to mention that new death beam that almost burned my arm off!"

"Zhis vas nothing like the last time ve faced it," Kurt continued. "Nothing like anything ve have prepared for!"

"Yes, Trask has modified his Sentinels in ways I didn't know where possible," Hank spoke up. "I'm going to have to look into this further. The advancements he's made in it's technology is astounding."

Ororo looked over at the professor and furrowed her eyebrows. "Professor, you look very troubled. What is the matter?"

"What happned today was planned," Professor X spoke in a very distressed tone. "I fear that the Sentinel was on it's way to attack the mansion until it encountered you four during lunch."

"What makes you think it was planned?" Alex asked.

"The area you four where in was directly on top of the Morlocks, not to mention there were more mutants in the surrounding area," he replied. "Semina, it was my understanding that you saved a child today?"

"Yes, that's true," I confirmed.

"That child was indeed a mutant but the Sentinel didn't go after it," the professor told me. "This proves that whoever sent the Sentinel after us was only targeting member of the X-Men."

"What do you mean 'whoever sent the Sentinel after us'?" I questioned. "It had to be Trask. He invented it!"

"Yes that may be true but what motive would he have to send it after us?" Professor X countered.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe because we got him thrown in jail?" LaToya rhetorically asked.

Logan spoke up and said "Well that may be true but that was two years ago. He was released shortly after. True, Trask hates us and all mutants for that matter but I doubt he would send it for simple revenge."

"So who do you think is targeting us professor?' Scott asked. "And for what reason?"

"That's something that we're going to have to find out, Scott," Professor X replied. "Until then we should be on high alert."

"We weren't prepared for this attack," Logan said. "Not by a long shot. So I want you all to train harder in case this happens again."

"I think I can be of assistance with that," a voice offered from behind this. We all turned to see Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

"Who keeps letting you in?" I rudely asked. There's no bad blood between me and Fury but he just irks my nerves for some reason.

"Doesn't sound like you're happy to see me," Fury teased before I shot him a glance. His face turned serious once more as he got to the point. "I have a new set of special agents that I think you can use in this matter."

"So I take it nothing gets by you huh Fury?" Logan growled. "We don't need any of your agents to help us."

"I think I'd beg to differ," Fury replied as he called in these so called "special" agents that would help us. But before they even stepped off the black heli-jet I knew was outside, I let out a groan.

"Oh come on," I mumbled as I facepalmed.

To everyone's surprise, except the telepaths in the room, the Brotherhood walked in. All in new S.H.I.E.L.D issued suits I might add. They were all vaguely similar to their old battle suits except they bared the S.H.I.E.L.D logo on each of them.

Pietro looked over at Semina and tensed up to her holding hands with her shirtless boyfriend. 'Pfft, I have a better body than that. What does she see in him?'

(I heard that,) I teased as I looked at him for a brief second.

"Since when is the Brotherhood working for S.H.I.E.L.D?" Scott demanded.

"Since we finished our training last week," Lance smugly replied. "And why are you upset? We're sort of on your side, Summers."

(And why didn't I know about this?) I frustratedly asked Pietro. This obviously explains that access card I thought I saw in his room. Not to mention a couple years ago after Apocalypse's defeat when Fury gave Pietro a business card. I can only imagine what happened between the brotherhood and Magneto. But I'll figure that out later.

(You never bothered to ask,) he retorted. (Oh and meet the Maria I was with earlier.)

My mouth made a little 'o' before I tried to put up a poker face. (I totally knew that.)

(Sure you did,) Pietro mentally chuckled.

"The Brotherhood is willing to apply their S.H.I.E.L.D training to help you with the upcoming battle," Fury explained.

"How do you know there's a battle coming?" Hank asked with his arms crossed.

"Face it McCoy," Fury said. "There's a war coming between the humans and the mutants. We all know it."

"Not unless we can stop that," Professor X said.

* * *

><p>"Status report!" yelled an irritated Trask. Standing behind him was a very calm Gyrich and a very frustrated Mayor Kelly.<p>

"Sir! The Sentinel was destroyed in battle!" one of Trask's workers informed. "However, we were able to retrive the camera we installed on one of the Mini-Sentinels."

"Destroyed?" Mayor Kelly angrily shouted. "Gyrich, I thought you-"

Gyrich held up a hand to stop Kelly'. "Excellent," Gyrich smiled. "Then everything is going according to plan."

A/N: Oooh...how's that for a new chapter? Summer's here so expect more updates. I'll be starting the next chapter the moment after I post this one. Don't forget to click the little review button and tell me what you thought!


	7. Things Just Got Serious

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Hope you all liked the last chapter and there's much more action to come! In the future chapters people will be betrayed, loyalties will be tested, more Sentinels, more danger and perhaps even some fluff. Anyway onto this chapter which contains a little citrus action but nothing major. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Things Just Got Serious

After we received the news that the Brotherhood was now on our side the professor invited them to sit down with both the Alpha and Beta teams to discuss our next course of action. The room was very quiet. Seeing as how we've been fighting these guys for years it's going to hard to see as allies instead of enemies.

"So you expect us to get along with them?" Scott bluntly asked the professor.

"Hey what's your problem Summers?" Lance demanded.

"My problem is you Alvers," Scott retorted.

"Calm down you guys," Kitty begged. "You two have been down each others throats for years now! Why can't you just bury the hatchet already?"

"But Kitten-," Lance whined before he heard soft laughter around him. He gave everyone an angry glare which immediately shut them up before saying "Summers is the one who keeps starting it."

Kitty sighed and rolled her eyes. She first turned to Scott and said "Scott you're my team leader but you're also my friend. And I'm asking you as a friend to please try and get along with the Brotherhood." Lance snickered at Scott but then Kitty turned around to him and said "And you mister! You're my boyfriend and I expect that you can try to control your temper and call a truce with the rest of the X-Men."

Lance defiantly crossed his arms and said "And what if I don't?" Kitty leaned into whisper something in his ear which made him drain of all color. "Okay, okay! I'll call a stupid truce." Lance got up and walked over to Scott. He stuck his hand and said "Let's just get this over with. Truce?"

Scott looked at his hand and was nudged forward by Jean until he shook Lance's hand. "Truce," Scott mumbled.

"See now was that so hard?" Kitty asked.

I made the sound of a whip cracking and the guys looked at me like they wanted to kill me while everyone else laughed. "Don't look at me like that! It's not my fault you guys are whipped."

The professor cleared his throat and said "All relationship matters aside, with the addition of the Brotherhood I believe that we can prevent any possible and unnecessary war with the humans. That would, however, require the cooperation and trust of all of you in this room. I'm not asking for you all to become best friends but can you at least give me that?"

"Yes professor," we replied in unison, including the Brotherhood.

"Well aren't you going to to tell everyone why your bags are on out front porch, Pietro?" I spoke up while I cast him a glance.

"Right," Pietro said as he sneered at me. "Since we all decided to use our first paychecks on renovations for the house, we kinda...need a place to stay. Since you guys never turn down mutants in need we figured it wouldn't be a problem if we stayed here a while. I wanted to speak with the professor in private but since little miss big mouth over there spilled the beans I guess it was fine to say it now."

Before everyone could get a chance to protest, the professor said "That's alright with me, Pietro. Thank you telling us in a very mature manner. We would be more than happy to accommodate you all. Just follow me and I'll get you all settled. Kitty, Semina, and Rogue will be showing you to your rooms."

"Yes professor," we replied. Helping Pietro "settle in" was the last thing I wanted to do but Rogue, Kitty and I were some of the only people in the mansion who could tolerate the Brotherhood so I guess we had no choice.

"As for the rest of you, I believe we've had enough...excitement for the day. Go get some rest and decompress from today's battle. We'll hold a mandatory training session with both teams and the Brotherhood bright and early tomorrow. You are all dismissed."

"This won't take long, babe," I said to Alex as I bent down to give him a kiss. (After I'm done here, I'll come by your room and you can give me that private show you promised me.) He blushed before I kissed him one more time and left with the Brotherhood.

After we arrived in the professor's study he assigned the members of the Brotherhood rooms and instructed us to help them find them and get them familiar with the mansion. After they retrieved their bags from the porch we guided them upstairs where Rogue showed Fred and Toad where they'll be staying, Kitty showed Lance and Pietro and I showed Wanda her room.

"You know my brother is jealous," Wanda told me as we walked to her room which was across from mine. "I can see it, you can see it, everyone in the mansion can see it except for him. He keeps trying to play it off but it's there."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked with a bored expression on my face. "How is this my problem?"

"I know you and him aren't on the best terms but hell if we could fix our broken relationship, maybe you can too," Wanda replied. This is so unlike her. Whatever Magneto had Mastermind do to her head didn't only make her memory of her horrible childhood disappear it also made her a completely different person.

"I don't want to fix anything with him," I stubbornly said. "What we had was nice but that's in the past."

Wanda stopped in her tracks and stared me down with her piercing blue eyes. She softly asked "Do you still have feelings for him?"

"Well yes I still care about him if that's what you mean," I truthfully admitted.

Wanda shook her head. "I meant to ask if you're still in love with him."

The question caught me off slightly guard. "I, uh-. No. I'm not."

I could tell Wanda was unconvinced but she kept quiet as I opened the door to her room. That moment of hesitation was all she needed to know the truth. And to be completely honest I'm still not sure what that truth is.

* * *

><p>The annoying buzz of Alex's alarm clock woke me up from my slumber, not like I had much sleep to begin with but the sound was still bothersome. I pretty much stopped sleeping in my own room because I loved waking up next to Alex every morning. It's like I could start everyday with a smile on my face. I rolled over at looked at my boyfriend who was still peacefully sleeping. He was so cute when he was asleep. His golden bangs were lying carelessly on his forehead and his face was so peaceful that it was a shame that I had to wake him up.<p>

"Baby, it's time to get up," I groggily said as I nudged his shoulder.

"Five more minutes please," he sleepily pleaded as his eyes fluttered open then shut again.

I cracked a tiny smile and yawned. "No can do big guy. Come on, we have a training session soon. You know if we're late we're gonna have to deal with Logan's punishment."

Alex immediately sprang up from the bed. "Okay, I'm up."

I laughed after following him to the bathroom to get ready to train.

After we finished getting ready, we went downstairs and headed outside to the outdoor training grounds. We usually train in the Danger Room but I guess they're trying to go easy on the Brotherhood. Everybody was here; ready and on time, even the Brotherhood. I guess Fury actually whipped them into shape. Logan walked outside shortly after us carrying a hat.

"In today's training session we'll be coordinating teams by picking names out of a hat," Logan said. "That way it's completely fair to everyone." He rustled through the hat and drew three slips of paper. "Amara, Kurt and Pietro step forward. You three will be our team leaders for the day. You'll each have eight people on your team so come draw some names."

Amara was first to draw her teammates. "Scott, Rahne, Jean, Todd, Bobby, Betsy, Warren and Lance." I could see the hate in both Scott and Lance's eyes as they walked to join their team.

Kurt was next to pick. "Wanda, Kitty, Roberto, Ray, Anthony, Jaime, Jubilee and Tabitha."

"Well isn't it my lucky day," Pietro exclaimed as he drew the remaining slips of paper. "That leaves me with Sam, Alex, LaToya, Fred, Lorna, Rogue, Laura and Semina." Pietro smiled as he looked directly at me.

"Oh joy," I monotonously mumbled. You can obviously tell I'm less than thrilled. Not only am I stuck on a team with Pietro but I'm stuck on a team with Laura AND Lorna. There's just something about her that I don't like.

(I'm looking forward to working side by side with you,) Pietro said. I looked over at him and he winked at me while Alex wasn't looking.

(Don't push it, Pietro,) I warned.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Rogue questioned.

"A classic: capture the flag," Logan replied. "But we're doing it my way. Amara's team will face off against Pietro's team while Kurt's team will do whatever they can to prevent both teams from getting the flag. This is a no holds barred game, as long as you're not trying to kill each other, anything goes. But if I see anyone getting carried away I the game ends."

'Anything goes huh?' I thought as I looked at the other team. 'Something tells me this is going to get bloody.'

"I'll give the teams some time to work on strategy so meet with your teammates and come up with a plan," Logan said.

Our team huddled up and being the natural born leader that I am, I spoke first. "Here's what we should do: Rogue, you and-"

"Um excuse me," Pietro curtly interrupted. "You heard the badger, _I'm_ the leader so _I'll_ be calling the shots if you don't mind."

I wanted to protest in my usual feisty manner but I didn't because I knew he was right. Besides there was no time to start a quarrel at the moment. "Fine go ahead."

"Thank you," Pietro said as politely as possible but it sounded very sarcastic through my ears. "This is capture the flag right? So all you guys have to do is hold off everyone else while I make a beeline for the flag. Simple as that."

"But that's what the other team will be expecting," I pointed out. "Don't you think that-"

Pietro cut me off once more. "Hey, I'm the leader here and what I say goes."

"Keep acting like that and you'll have one less member on your team," I growled. "This a _team_ effort so try to let everyone give some input."

"But you're trying to undermine my authority," Pietro argued.

"I'm what?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and shocked expression. "Let me tell you something-":

"Enough! How about the two of you shut up and let someone else talk!" Rogue demanded. "Since Tom and Jerry over there took up most of our planning time, all I can say to you all is find an opponent that you can dominate with your own powers and try to get that flag as quickly as possible. Look for openings and notice their weaknesses. And Fred...try to not overdo it."

"Teams to the starting line!" Logan called. We broke our huddle and lined up at the starting line all while Pietro and I gave each other death glares. "The game begins when I blow the whistle." Logan looked to see if everyone was ready and blew into his silver whistle. The game was now underway and things were about to get serious.

Angel took to the air while Quicksilver began to dart toward the flag. Just as I expected, Jean used her telekinesis to stop him in his tracks. Havok took it upon himself to try to shoot Angel out of the sky while the rest of the teams made a path to the flag. Psyloche squared off against X-23, Magma and Iceman combined their very different powers to take care of Sunspot and Stone, and Toad was quickly taken out by a simple bump of Blob's stomach. Lorna, I mean "_Polaris_" as she was calling herself, battled against Wolfsbane leaving Rogue, Siren, Cyclops and Avalanche to head after the flag. Seeing on how we were outside I closed my eyes and summoned a large amount of water from the raging ocean. I surrounded my body in a circle of rushing water and through the water I eyed who I wanted to take down. Punching through the circle I sent water toward Berserker, Jubilee and as many Multiple copies as I could before I the water I was controlling dropped to the ground and I felt the sensation of being lifted into the air. I turned my head to see the Scarlet Witch surrounding me in her blue hex prison.

"Oh come on!" I exclaimed. "No fair!"

"Anything goes remember?" she smirked. I guess smirking ran in the family.

"So that means I can do this!" Alex yelled out before hitting the Scarlet Witch in the back with a concussion blast. She fell the to floor and released her hold on me. Alex dove to catch me and we barreled over twice before we stopped tumbling.

"Nice catch babe," I smiled. "Now let's keep up this offense so we can get that flag!"

"I don't think so!" Boom Boom shouted as she threw a cantaloupe sized bomb at our feet. It exploded and sent us flying into the trees.

"Are you okay?" Alex called over to me.

I frustratedly shook some leaves out my hair. "Peachy."

We looked down to see Boom Boom doubled over in laughter and I took that as an opportunity to take her down. I took a deep breath and carefully extracted water from the grass she stood on to make a long yet skinny rope of water. I wrapped it around her body tightly and froze it.

"Ice chains, nice," Havok commented. "How about getting us down now?"

"Already on it," I said. I took the water from the trees we were in and lifted us on a water carpet. "How about I take you to see a whole new world, Aladdin? Or to the flag at least."

"Lead the way Jasmine," Havok chuckled as we took toward the direction of the flag. I saw the blue flag pinned to a stake of wood in the ground and as we neared it a sudden blast of red energy disrupted the form of the carpet beneath us. Havok and I hit the ground and looked up to see Cyclops running ahead of us. Havok aimed a blast at him and knocked him off his feet.

"I'll take care of my bro," Havok said as he helped me to my feet. "Go after the flag!"

I wasn't very far from the flag as decided to get there on foot. I ran as fast as I could and just as I neared it a cloud of black, sulfuric smoke appeared and disappeared taking the flag with it.

"Damn it!" I yelled as I stomped the ground. "Now I have to go find Nightcrawler." I put my fingers to my temple and tracked his mind to just beyond the grove of trees to my left. I ran into the thick set of trees swatting away loose branches and carefully avoiding bushes and spider webs. "There it is!" I saw the flag in the middle of an open field and put in overtime as I raced to get it. Suddenly I felt the ground underneath me shake then give way. Before I fell into the crater below I grabbed onto the side of the hole.

Avalanche looked down at me and laughed. "See ya later Tsunami!" He laughed some more before taking off.

"That's it," I mumbled as I hoisted myself out of the hole. "No more Mrs. Nice Girl." I punched both of my arms forward sending a rush of water toward Avalanche who turned around just in time to see himself get frozen from head to toe. Smirking with satisfaction I continued toward the flag but I didn't take two steps before Shadowcat phased me halfway into the ground. I struggled to get out of the ground but I wasn't going anywhere until she phased me out.

"Argh!" I yelled as I hit the ground with both fists. I looked at my surroundings and saw Jean still using all of her concentration to hold Quicksilver. In the past she was never able to hold him this long so something told she was holding him with sheer willpower.

'She looks exhausted,' I thought. 'Maybe I can hep her out a little.' I sent a psionic blast at her and sure enough it broke her concentration on both her telekinetic hold on Quicksilver as well as her flying. Without enough power to keep herself airborne, she began to fall to the ground. Cyclops who was still battling his brother noticed her falling and took his attention off of Havok.

"You left yourself open bro!" Havok yelled as he sent one final blast at Cyclops knocking to the ground.

Lucky for Cyclops, Warren was able to swoop down and catch Jean before she could hit the ground. I looked at Quicksilver who was just getting up from the ground and yelled "What are you waiting for you idiot? Go get the flag!"

"Quit your yapping! I'm going! I'm going!" Quicksilver shouted.

"Not so fast Quicksilver!" Iceman yelled as he started to made an ice ramp to pursue him. "I think you need to cool down." Iceman iced Quicksilver's legs, effectively stopping him in his tracks and eliminating all hopes of our team winning. To make matters worse, Stone decided to trap Quicksilver in a rock prison that covered everything but his head just to make sure he couldn't break out. Iceman was now en route to the flag with a straight shot there because the rest of my team wouldn't be able to get there in time.

"Great, we're gonna lose," I pouted as I put my head in my hands.

Just as Iceman jumped off of his ice ramp and bent down toward the flag, a swift kick to the face was delivered by none other than X-23 who had popped out from the trees. She extended her claws and snatched the flag with them.

"Game's over," X-23 smirked. "We win."

I wasn't sure whether or not I should be happy that we won or upset that I didn't get the flag myself. 'How could I let Laura upstage me like that!' I angrily thought. 'Look at me! I'm stuck in the ground while she's getting all the praise.'

(Someone sounds jealous,) Pietro teased.

(If I were you I wouldn't be talking right now because last time I checked you couldn't even come close to the flag,) I retorted. (Your power is running but you didn't even run anywhere near the flag. Some team leader you turned out to be.)

(Hey don't get mad at me because Pryde phased you into the ground,) Pietro replied. (You were just as useless as I was.)

(So you admit that you were useless,) I smirked.

(That's not what I meant!) Pietro yelled. (God! Why are you so infuriating?)

(Why are you so annoying?) I asked.

(Why are you so jealous of X-23?) Pietro asked, knowing how to push my buttons.

"I'M NOT JEALOUS OF HER!" I accidentally blurted out loud. Everyone turned around to look at me and I just put my head down.

(Heh heh, you're so jealous,) Pietro mused as he basked in his victory.

Logan walked onto the field to congratulate us after everyone gathered around X-23. Pietro, Lance and I were freed from our prisons and joined them. "Well done. You managed to get the flag and no one was seriously injured in the process." Logan looked down at Bobby who was still unconscious with a worried Amara cradling his head. Getting kicked in the face by a foot made with adamantium must hurt like hell. "That's gonna leave a mark. I wanted to see if everyone would be able to trust their teammates and for the most part I saw that. I saw you all were able to practice self restraint and I'm proud of guys for that. Session dismissed...except for Semina and Pietro."

"Ooh, you guys are in trouble," Jaime giggled.

"Do you want to stay after too?" Logan growled at the young mutant who rapidly shook his head no. "That's what I thought." After everyone retreated back to the mansion Logan glared at the both of us. "I picked up on the little argument you two had before the session and I have to say I'm disappointed in you sprinkler. You know better than to flat out contradict and question your team leader's plan without giving it a chance."

Pietro chuckled smugly before Logan cast him a glare. "And you pretty boy. You're on a team for a reason. There are other people here to help you. You can't do everything alone."

It was my turn to chuckle as I saw Pietro shrink back Logan. Logan growled at me before sighing. "I spoke to the professor during the session and he thinks it's a good idea to do a trust building exercise for just the two of you."

"We don't need to build trust," I scoffed as I looked at the ground. "Because quite frankly I don't trust him. Given our history, I think it's not in my best interest to trust someone who doesn't know where his loyalties lie."

"Good because I don't trust you either," Pietro barked. "It's hard to trust someone who doesn't know what she wants."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I glowered as I stepped forward and jabbed a finger in his face. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Yeah there is!" Pietro shouted as he took a step forward to match me.

Logan pushed us away from each other. "And that's why you two need the trust building exercise. I swear if you two don't learn to get along, both of you will be sitting out the upcoming missions!"

"But-" we began to argue before Logan gave us a look that silenced us. "Yes Logan."

"Report to the Danger Room tomorrow morning at six and I don't want to hear anything else about it," Logan said. "Now get going."

(This is all your fault,) Pietro angrily huffed.

(Shut up Pietro,) I growled as we exited the field giving each other death glares the entire way back to the mansion.

Later that evening

I giggled as Alex kissed my neck. "Stop. That tickles!" I went back to his room after that awfully humiliating training session for a little pre-dinner fun.

"Yeah I know," Alex replied with a smirk as he continued to kiss my neck. "What are you gonna do to make me stop?"

I slowly stripped down to my bra and panties and climbed on top of him. "This," I whispered into his ear before slowly nibbling on his lips. I ran my hand through his soft hair as I felt his hands fumbled with the clasp on my bra. He undid it then I sat up to remove it. I tossed it to the floor and he smiled.

"Those are nice," Alex commented with a laugh. "Very proportional." I laughed as I guided his hands onto them. "And really soft."

I laid down on his chest as I brought my lips down to his. We continued to kiss until we switched positions. Alex opened the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a condom. Before he even got a chance to open it the door flew open and in walked Scott.

"Hey Alex do you have my-" Scott began before he looked at what was happening before quickly exiting the room.

I closed my eyes and huffed. "I can't believe we forgot to lock the door."

"Well there goes the mood," Alex sighed.

He began to roll off of me. I stopped him and said "I think I can fix that and our door problem." I quickly froze the door shut and brought Alex's down to mine. "There does that make it better?"

Alex gave a tiny laugh. "Much better." We continued kissing until I began to take off his shorts leaving him in his boxers. I felt his erection press against my mound and let out a tiny moan. Alex's hand then began to tug on my panties. They were half way off before we both received telepathic messages to come downstairs for dinner.

"Ignore them," I whispered as kissed Alex's neck softly. "They can wait."

"Yeah they can," Alex agreed.

I reached up to kiss him and at that moment I heard a very loud and very obnoxious voice in my head. (DID YOU HEAR THE PROFESSOR? IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!)

I grabbed my head and pushed Alex off of me. "For the love of God! Can I not have some alone time with my boyfriend?" Now there was a ringing in my head and the mood had completely died. I looked at Alex and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. Maybe next time people will let us finish what we start."

"It was Maximoff wasn't it?" Alex growled. I nodded as he got off the bed and began to pull some clothes on.

I grumbled as I picked up my bra and put it back on. I could tell from the look on Alex's face that he was as upset as I was. Let me tell you, being angry and horny at the same time was not a good combination. After we got dressed we headed downstairs still very pissed off at Pietro and took our seats at the dinner table. Pietro constantly gave smug glances in our direction until I finally threw down my fork and asked "Ya got some kind of eye problem?"

"Nope my eyes are perfectly fine last time I checked them," came his reply. "What's wrong anyway? You look a little...flustered."

"You know damn well what's wrong," Alex gruffly said as he glared at him. "I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of my girlfriend's head."

"Oh I'm sorry, did I interrupt something important?" Pietro asked feigning innocence just to make us more angry.

I saw Alex's eyes began to glow red as he balled up his fist and I put a hand on his forearm. "He's not worth it baby. Don't let him bait you."

Pietro chuckled. "So Alex, were they...proportional?" The room went silent as all the chatter stopped to look at Alex and I.

My face turned red from embarrassment from the knowing stares I was getting and the sheer anger I was feeling. I abruptly stood up and through clenched teeth I said "Pietro I need speak with you alone."

"As you can plainly see, I'm in the middle of dinner," he replied as he spooned a scoop of rice into his mouth.

In a low growl I said "I wasn't asking you." I shot him a look that could melt adamantium. "I'm not going to repeat myself."

Pietro, knowing he had reached the limit, rose from his seat and followed me into the living room.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell is your problem?" I demanded as I balled my hands into fists. "What are you trying to pull?"

"I'm not trying to pull anything," Pietro calmly explained. "I was just letting you know it was time for dinner."

"Like you didn't know Alex and I were in the middle of something," I heated snarled. " I can't tell you to stay out of my head because that's impossible but what my boyfriend and I do is our business and our business alone. You're in no place to try to interfere with what that!"

"Oh well _sorry_ for interrupting your hump fest!" Pietro sarcastically said. "Which, by the way, is very long overdue according to what I've seen in your head. You two have been dating for what almost a year? It only took me months to get you out of that lovely lavender bra. For someone who claimed to be in love with me that seemed a little early don't you think? Very _whoreish_ behavior."

"Are you kidding me?" I hissed as tears welled up in my eyes. "How can you be so hypocritical? You would sleep with a woman before you even learn her name and you have the nerve to call me a whore?"

"I just call them like I see them," Pietro coldly replied as he turned around to walk away.

"Wanda was right, you know," I called to his back. "You are jealous of Alex."

Pietro scoffed as he stopped in his tracks. "Let's get something straight right here and now. I'm not jealous of that little overly tanned surfer boy. I can have whoever I want so don't feel any kind of envy for Mini Summers having _you_."

"Oh really?" I asked. " 'Why is she with him?' 'She should be with me.' 'What does she see in him?' 'I hate him.' " Pietro's face twisted into anger. "And those are just surface thoughts I picked up. Shall I pry deeper? Or are you ready to admit that you're jealous?"

"For the last time, I'm not jealous," Pietro exasperatedly replied.

"Of course you are," I began. "But then again in your mind it's okay to completely ignore emotion. You think that they'll make you weak if you give into them but the truth is you're a coward to hide from them in the first place. And that's all you'll ever be. A weak, little coward who's too afraid to face his problems like a man. So go ahead and run from your emotions because that's what you're best at. I never knew you were so pathetic."

Pietro slowly stalked over to me and roughly grabbed my arms. He shoved me into the nearby wall and as he spoke his voice dropped to a menacing tone. "How dare you talk to me about running from emotion. You don't think I know you still carry a flame for me? Because I know it all too well. And that's the thing about a flame, as long as it's there it can always be turned into a raging fire. You may have broken up with me but deep down you regret it and because of that you can't find a way let me go. So who's the weak one here? Me? Or the girl who can't let go of the boy who broke her heart two years ago? You still love me and when it comes down to it, y_ou're_ the real pathetic one here."

I was taken aback by his unnecessary roughness and crude words. "You're a heartless, arrogant bastard."

"I'd rather be heartless than a pathetic little girl with a broken psyche and an even more broken heart."

I held tears back as I stared into his cold blue eyes and whispered "I hate you. I hate you so much."

"Well guess what? The feeling is mutual," Pietro replied, never once loosening his grip or breaking eye contact. "And I just have more more thing to say."

"And what is that?" I asked, as I tried to struggle out of his grasp. Before I got the chance to, a very familiar look flickered across his eyes and as he leaned in to kiss me...I froze.

A/N: Time for a cliffhanger? I think so! I'll keep going if you people review your little hearts out!


	8. Trust is a Two Way Street

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Let's see how Mina reacts to Pietro's advance and how trust building goes after that. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Trust is a Two Way Street

Pietro continued to lean in to kiss and I found myself drawn to him. I leaned in and our lips were just millimeters away from each others when I snapped into my senses. I removed my right hand from his grasp, reared it back and slapped him as hard as I could. The smack resonated through the living room as Pietro reached up to grab his now cherry red cheek which I assumed stung.

"No, you don't get to do that to me," I asked in a harsh whisper. "You can't just try to kiss me after all those things you said. I have a _boyfriend_ who I happen to care immensely about and I don't need you trying to mess things up for me. "

Pietro reached out to touch me and I backed away from him with tears streaming down my face. "Don't touch me. Just stay away from me."

I hurried out of the living room and unfortunately had to walk through the dining room to get back up to my room. Alex, who hadn't stopped staring at the door since I left, was the first to notice my arrival and my tears.

"Whoa baby, what's wrong?" Alex asked as he rushed to my side. He brought me in an embrace and kissed my forehead. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," I lied as I wiped the tears away. "I'm fine. I don't think I have much of an appetite anymore though. I think I'm just gonna go lie down."

"I'll come with you," Alex volunteered.

"No, no," I said as I refused to look him in the eye. "I just need to be alone right now. I just-" I began to cry even harder as I pushed Alex away from me and darted up the stairs.

"Semina, come back!" Alex called after me.

At that moment Pietro chose to walk in holding his cheek which was still stinging from where Semina slapped him. Alex sneered at him with the most foul of expressions and Pietro matched it as he walked back to his seat to finish his dinner.

"What the hell just happened?" LaToya asked finally breaking the silence. The entire room seemed to give a shrug and stared at Pietro.

"I don't know but whatever he did to her, I'm gonna kick his ass for it," Alex hissed as he began to stalk toward Pietro.

Scott got up to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible and walked over to his brother. "I'm not gonna let you do anything while you're this upset. Even though Maximoff probably deserves it. Go outside and cool down then go upstairs and try to comfort Semina."

Alex took a deep breath and shot an angry look at Pietro one more time before he walked out of the dining room. People winced as they heard the door slam. No has ever seen Alex so angry because he was such a peaceful person by nature. Whatever was going on between Alex, Semina and Pietro no one wanted to try to get in the middle of it.

In Semina's Room

I lay on my bed with my head facing the balcony. I saw blasts of red streaming across the sky so I knew Alex was blowing off some steam. I was absolutely disgusted with myself. Pietro almost _kissed_ me. That was horrible in itself but part of me was screaming for me to actually kiss him back. I feel guilty that for that second I leaned in to almost kiss him, I forgot about Alex. How could call myself a good girlfriend if I didn't know how to say no to my ex-boyfriend? Granted I didn't kiss him but I almost did and that was enough to make me question my feelings for both Alex and Pietro. I love Alex, I know I do, but maybe there _is_ a part of me that I think still loves Pietro too. Is it even possible to love two guys at the same time?

I groaned as I covered my face with my pillow. "Why do I always get myself in situations like this?"

Amidst my confusing thoughts and guilt trip, I heard a knock at the door. I took the pillow down from my face and softly yelled "Go away Alex."

Alex, who had plainly disobeyed my wishes, entered anyway to see me with my pillow covering my face.

"I don't want to talk about it," came my muffled response to his presence. "I'm fine really."

"Mina, I've known you long enough to know when you're not alright," Alex quietly said. "And right now, you're not alright. Please talk to me, I'm your boyfriend and I love you. I don't want to see the girl I'm in love with crying over something she won't even tell me about."

I slowly brought the pillow down from my face and looked him in his very sincere brown eyes. I immediately threw myself into his arms after sitting up. Something compelled me to tell him everything, and I do mean everything. The nightmares I've been having about the MRD, how Pietro almost kissed me and how I can't help but feel something I can't quite put my finger on for Pietro. Alex looked upset, hurt and even a little sad.

"Why did you try to keep all of this from me?" Alex asked as he tucked a strand of hair away from my eye. "Don't you think I would have understood?"

"I know you would have but I've only ever talked about what goes on in my head with the professor, my aunt and Pietro," I shamefully replied as I avoided his gaze. I can't bring myself to even look at him after what I told him.

Alex took my chin and made me face him. "Semina, I love you. You do know know that right? I've been in love with you ever since I saved you back at Asteroid M. I barely knew you and I _still_ wanted to save this random girl I didn't even know just because there was something about her I liked. I couldn't stop thinking about you after that. When I carried you back to the heli-jet in Mexico, that was the first moment when we ever spoke to each other. I knew you were hurt but I loved the way you smiled, I loved the way your eyes sparkled in the sun and I loved having you in my arms. That's when I knew I had to be with you. I'm here for you whenever you need me and I need you to know that. If there's something you have bottled up inside of you, don't be afraid to tell me about it. I'm in love with you and there is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, I wouldn't do to see you happy."

His words made me sob into his chest as I felt him smooth my hair. "I don't know what I did to ever deserve to have someone like you. I love you too Alex." I had told Alex that I loved him out loud before but I knew the moment it left my mouth just now that I meant it 120%. Damn all of my feelings for Pietro, I'm in love with Alex Summers and there's no doubt about it. "I love you and I never want to lose you."

"There's no way you're gonna lose me, baby," Alex reassured as he held me tighter.

"Promise?" I sniffled.

Alex took a tissue out of the box by my bed and gently wiped away my tears. "Promise. Now come on, give me that beautiful smile I've come to love."

I cracked a tiny smile but the more I looked at Alex the bigger it grew. A loud grumble interrupted the sweet moment as I remembered I didn't finish dinner. "Looks like I'm still hungry."

"It's still early," Alex began as he got off my bed. "I'll tell you what. How about you and I go catch a movie then get some ice cream and eat it underneath the stars at the beach?"

Alex held out his hand and I reached out to take it. "I'd love to," I replied as I captured his lips in mine in a loving kiss. "Let's get out of here."

We walked downstairs hand in hand and popped into the dining room.

"Semina and I are going to catch a movie," Alex said as he addressed the professor.

"That's fine by me," Professor X replied before he looked at me. "Just don't get in to late Semina. You still have a session at six."

I groaned before slapping my forehead. "I forgot all about that. Can't we move it? Please professor?"

The professor looked like he was going to say no until he furrowed then unfurrowed his eyebrows and sighed. "Very well. Report to my study tomorrow afternoon at two."

"Thank you professor!" I smiled before I ran to hug him. "I'll be there. Come on Alex, the movies await."

I went to rejoin Alex and as we were walking out Alex turned to look at Pietro and said "Don't wait up for us" before he smiled at him. Pietro's nostrils flared before he abruptly got up from his seat, left the dining room and retreated up the stairs.

At the beach

After the movies, Alex and I walked hand in hand along the shoreline of the beach. Our shoes were in our hands as we decided to walk barefoot to feel the cool water and sand beneath our feet. We talked about everything and nothing as we walked. Memories of the beach as kids, what we wanted to be if weren't mutants, our favorite kinds of foods and our homes.

Alex took in a deep breath of the chilly salty air and sighed. "Reminds me of home."

"Do you miss Hawaii a lot?" I asked.

"Sometimes," Alex replied as he stopped walking. "I miss the warm moist air, the food, but most of all I miss my parents. Sure they're not my real parents but they've raised me since I was a baby. I love them like they were my biological parents."

I frowned slightly. "Why did you come to Bayville if you knew you were gonna be homesick?"

"There was something here I just could stay away from," Alex smiled as he looked at me. "Being an X-Man is great an all but it wouldn't be the same without my X-Woman."

"Oh my gosh that was so cheesy," I snickered before I kissed him. "But incredibly sweet. Now come on, let's go for a swim."

"But we didn't bring-," Alex began before he caught on. "Ooh, you don't have to tell me twice."

I slipped out of my dress and jumped into the water with Alex.

"It's freezing!" I shrieked as I felt the cold water envelop me.

"Swim on over here and let me warm you up," Alex seductively said.

"With pleasure," I replied as I saw over to him. He wrapped me in his arms and we just floated in each others arms with no cares in the world.

"I just realized something," I piped up as we still floated in the ocean. "We never got our ice cream."

"Aww that's right," Alex exclaimed. "Do you think it's too late to go get some now?"

The sun began to rise and answered his question. I knew we lost track of time but I didn't think we would stay out all night.

"Wow, it's morning already," I marveled as we watched the sunrise. "The sunrise looks even more amazing on the beach."

"Yeah it does," Alex happily sighed. "But might as well get a move on if we want to get some ice cream."

Alex and I put our clothes back on after I removed the water from our skin. We drove all around the city looking for an ice cream parlor that was open until we finally found one that had just opened. We went in and ordered each other's favorite, mint chocolate chip with sprinkles for me and vanilla ice cream with macadamia nuts and caramel for Alex, before we headed back to the mansion. We walked in the kitchen still eating our ice cream and found a couple of people already up for breakfast. Scott and Jean were sipping coffee and were the first to see us.

"Whoa, are you guys just getting in?" Jean asked.

"It's six in the morning!" Scott exclaimed as he turned on his protective big brother mode. "Why are you guys just getting in?"

"We told you guys to not wait up for a reason," Alex joked.

"So you two lovebirds stayed out all night huh?" LaToya asked as she fed Kurt a bite of French toast.

"Mmm hmm," I agreed as I nestled my head on Alex's shoulder. "It was probably the best night of my life."

Logan sniffed the air. "You guys smell like...saltwater."

"We sorta spent the night at the beach," Alex chuckled while scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Kinda lost track of time."

"But you had plenty of time to get ice cream and not bring me any," LaToya pouted.

"It's not my job to feed you," I laughed. I covered my hand as I let out a yawn. "I should probably get some sleep before that stupid session later. Bye guys."

Alex and I were headed up the stairs when he asked "So what's this session with you and the professor about?"

I groaned. "Trust building with Pietro." I didn't want to do the session on the first place and I was upset about it but not as much as Alex was.

"What? I don't want that guy coming near you after what he tried to pull last night," Alex fumed. "No way."

"I don't want to do it either," I chimed in. "But the professor and Logan insist upon it and I can't say no to them or else I'm barred from the upcoming missions. It's either learn to get along with that pompous jackass or sit out on the sidelines and you know how much I hate sitting on the sidelines."

Alex huffed but said nothing more. He knows that he can't do or say anything to stop the session so he just dropped it. But I could tell he's not jumping at the idea of having his girlfriend in a private session with her ex.

We arrived at Alex's door when I whispered "Well we have been out all night. How about the two of us go take a shower?"

In turn he bent down and whispered "Last one in has to wash the other's hair."

"You're on," I smirked as I started to unbutton his shirt.

Scott called from downstairs to Alex. "Alex! Bro! Phone for you! It's your parents!"

Alex got excited as a smile spread on his face but then faded away when he saw my disappointment. "I have to...they're my-"

I put a finger to his lips. "Shh, it's fine," I soothed. "Go. I'll just have to start without you. Come whenever you're ready."

Alex headed downstairs while I headed to his shower. I got undressed and the moment that warm water hit my skin, I melted. I waited for Alex for what seemed like forever but then sighed when I assumed he was going to be on the phone for a while. I got washed up by myself and when I stepped out of the shower an idea hit me.

'I'm gonna surprise Alex by waiting for him on his bed in just a towel,' I thought. 'That will make up for the shower.'

I walked out of his bathroom and sat down on his comfy bed. Sitting down didn't look so sexy so I laid stomach down with my feet tucked up in the air and crossed. Unfortunately the instant my head touched his pillow, I was out like a light.

Alex walked into his room after getting off of the phone with his parents. He had some news he wanted to surprise Mina with but he was the one to be surprised when he opened the door to find his girlfriend clad only in a towel and sleeping like a baby on his bed. He smiled and let out a chuckle. He dashed over to Mina's room and grabbed some clothes, a pair of shoes and Semina's favorite charm bracelet for her before returning to his room. He neatly folded the clothes on the nightstand next to her and quickly scribbled a note that he left on top of them. Alex placed a kiss on the top of her head before tucking her underneath the covers and getting in the shower.

* * *

><p>I slowly opened my eyes and straightened up on the bed. I stretched my arms and yawned. "Oh wow how long was I out?" I looked over the clock on the nightstand on my right that read 1:15 P.M and yelped. "Oh man! I have a session in forty minutes and I slept the day away!" I looked around the room and found it empty. "I wonder where Alex is?" I looked at the nightstand on the left and saw a dress with a note on top of it. It read:<p>

"Hey there sleepy head. You fell asleep waiting for me.

I'll be out running some errands until after your session so don't freak out

if you wake up and don't find me in the house. I left you some clothes

and a pair of shoes by the bed. Good luck with your session.

-Love Alex

P.S: In the future, feel free to surprise me in a towel _anytime_."

"I love that guy," I dotingly mumbled to myself. "I really do."

I put on the clothes he picked out for me, a short-sleeved brown baby doll dress and a pair of matching brown sandals. I walked into the bathroom and looked at my hair. Because I didn't dry it earlier, it was left very curly and wavy as it cascaded down my back. My hair really nice that way so I chose to not tie it in my usual ponytail. Heading downstairs I waltzed into the kitchen humming a happy tune. I took out some stuff to make a sandwich and while I continued my humming the Brotherhood, Kitty and Rogue were everyone in the kitchen seemed to take notice.

"And why are you so happy?" Wanda asked with a disgusted look on her face.

I sighed happily before grinning widely. "No reason. I just feel happy."

Kitty giggled and in a sing-songy voice said "I bet it's Alex related."

"Maybe," I giggled. "I'm really in love with that guy. He just makes me so...so-"

"Happy?" Lance teased.

"Oh like you're one to talk Lance," I laughed. "What about you and...Kitten?"

I heard Fred and Todd make kissing noises and Kitty blushed while Lance shook them off of their chairs.

"Lance, temper," Kitty warned. Lance looked sheepish while I tried to stifle my laughter. "Come on Mina, you're not making it easier on him."

I reigned my laughter in. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I apologized while the giggles died down. I finished making my sandwich and walked over to the table. "I just find it so cute."

Lance growled at me as I took a seat across from him and next to Rogue.

"Lighten up, Lance," I smiled. "I'm just teasing."

"Yeah whatever," Lance replied as he crossed his arms.

"So how was last night?" Kitty pried. "Anything special happen?"

"Last night was amazing," I wistfully said. "We went to the movies, had a romantic walk on the beach and talked under the stars all night."

"Oooh I think I'm gonna be sick," Pietro rudely mumbled. I shot hit a look and he just sneered and looked out the window.

"Aww that's so sweet," Kitty cooed before she looked to Lance and hit him in the shoulder. "How come we never do that?"

Lance sputtered and stammered before he saw that Kitty was laughing. He narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

"Where's Alex now?" Rogue asked. "I haven't seen him since you two got in this morning."

"This morning?" Kitty asked. "You two spent the entire night out?"

"Yeah, we left our stuff on the beach and swam all night so we lost track of time," I explained. "It was just the two of us, alone, hearing nothing but the waves crash. We went out for ice cream and got in this morning around 6:30. I haven't seen Alex since then. He said he went out to run some errands and that he'll be back after my session with Pietro." His name dripped from my mouth like acid.

"Bite me," Pietro hissed.

"I don't remember talking to you," I growled. "And I thought I told you to stay away from me." I had been ignoring his presence ever since I entered the kitchen but up until now I've been succeeding.

"Free country," Pietro retorted. "I can say and do what I want, when I want."

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "You're such an asshole."

"You're no better sweetheart, trust me," Pietro berated as his voice became slightly higher. "God! I don't see how these people put up with you."

"They "put up with me" the same way everyone puts up with your shitty attitude," I yelled as I slammed my hands on the table as I leaned on it. "I am sick and tired of you treating me like shit! What the hell is your problem?" I was trying to contain myself but he was really starting to piss me off.

Pietro matched my stance by slamming his fists on the table making it shake and even knocking over Lance's drink. "My problem is _you_!"

"Well if I'm your problem why don't you just take my advice and stay the hell away from me?" I shouted. My eyes began to glow blue and my hair began to float and stand on end. I could hear the blood pumping in my ears and feel my rage steadily increasing as every liquid surrounding me began to float. I could hear and sense the ocean outside thrashing violently. I haven't gotten this angry in years but he just makes my blood boil.

"Well fine!" Pietro shouted as a vein throbbed on the side of neck. "I don't need to put up with this!"

"I don't need this session we have to do!" I shouted back.

"And I don't need YOU!" we yelled at the same time. We both stopped yelling as soon as the words left our mouths. It's amazing how hurt we both looked at what we just said. My eyes stopped glowing and my hair fell back into place as Pietro's angry look slightly melted away.

"Semina, Pietro, in my study," Professor X spoke. We turned our heads to see not only an audience of very confused mutants but a very upset professor as well. "Now."

I held my head down in shame as I left with the professor and Pietro. As soon as we arrived in his study, the professor made his expression as neutral as possible. "I'm very shocked by what I just witnessed. When Logan informed me you two were bickering I never imagine how severe it really was. I had something planned for this session but instead I'm going to leave you two alone to talk. You have one hour to sort this out."

And with that the professor left. We looked at each and scoffed. "I have nothing to say to you Pietro."

"Good because I have nothing to say to you," Pietro repeated.

We sat with our backs turned to each other for what seemed like hours. I kept sneaking glances at him until something caught my eye. A metal chain I've never seen before was around his neck. Pietro wasn't one to wear jewelry so I wanted to know what it was.

"Uh what's that around your neck?" I quietly asked as I turned to face him.

He seemed a little startled by me actually talking to him. "Huh? Oh this? It's my S.H.I.E.L.D dog tag. Standard issue. Every agent gets one."

Pietro removed the dog tag hung from underneath his shirt and showed it to me. It had a series of number which I assumed was his ID number and Quicksilver engraved on it. It was the little charm he had hanging next to the dog tag that made me tear up. It was half of a heart that read 'Forever'.

"You-you kept that?" I asked as I tried to keep my voice from breaking.

Pietro looked down at it and turned a little pink. He looked at the floor and said "Yeah I did. It meant something to me. Can't say the same for you."

I sighed before holding up my bracelet. Among the charms Aunt Viv had given me was the other half of the heart that read 'Together'. I connected the two halves and gave him a sad smile as tears rolled down my cheeks. "What happened to us Pietro?" I guess seeing that charm made me realize how stupid we were acting.

"I-I don't know," he replied as he stared at the heart our two charms formed. "We grew up and grew apart I guess."

"I spent so many months crying over you," I quietly said as I unhooked the hearts and brought my knees to my chest. "I couldn't get over the pain I was feeling. I was dying on the inside when I broke up with you but in hindsight it was the right thing to do. After the Sentinel disaster I couldn't bring myself to trust you anymore. I had given up on you and that's something you know I hate doing because I was always the person who believed in you. I thought 'What is he gonna do without me here?' But then I realized that it wasn't my problem anymore. The process of getting over you was hard enough at the time because..." I closed my eyes and sighed. "Up until recently...I still loved you. But loving you is just too much heartache and pain for me to tolerate. I can truthfully say that I'll never stop caring about you though. I mean, we're bonded, so there's really nothing I could ever do to stop caring about you."

Pietro, who had been staring at a painting throughout her entire confession, finally looked at Semina. She looked like a complete wreck. Her eyes were closed but she was crying silent tears and in the position she was in she looked very vulnerable and weak. Pietro could see Mina pinching her lips together and squeezing her arms to keep her sobs in. Suddenly all her years of emotional baggage weighed on him and he could feel a tug on his heart and knew that what she said was true. He looked away from her and back at the painting. "I had no idea this is how you felt. With our link I can pick up what you're thinking but I've never heard this before." Pietro took a shaky breath. "I-I don't mean to hurt you so much, I really don't but things were crazy for me when we were dating. Magneto had such a grip on me that I was too afraid to ever do anything against his wishes. I'll admit that I didn't take the breakup very well. But how could I when I realized I lost the best thing that ever happened to me? I'm, uh, I-I'm really sorry for everything I put you through."

I put my legs down and turned to look over at Pietro who was still staring at the painting. He felt the eyes on him and turned to meet my gaze. Pietro casually leaned over to wipe away and tear and cracked a half smile. I smiled in return and let out a chuckle. "Oh come here." I reached over and threw my arms around his neck in a tight embrace. He tensed up for a split second then returned it. I took in his cologne and frowned. This wasn't the same smell that used to drive me crazy as a teen. It was like he wasn't the same anymore. I shook my head slightly before saying "We can't keep doing this to each other. This hate game. We've been through too much for that."

Pietro lightly inhaled the scent on Semina's hair and frowned when he realized it no longer smelled like coconuts, like the way he remembered it. This wasn't the same girl from two years ago. She grew up and got over him and even though he would never admit out loud...that hurt him...a lot. "Yeah. We have." He felt Mina's tears sink into his shirt and felt her shaking as her sobs grew slightly more audible. "Calm down, Mina. It's gonna be alright." He rubbed her back and held her tighter.

Through my crying fit I asked "Yeah but are _we_ gonna be okay?"

The embrace ended as we drew away from each other and looked into each other's eyes. Pietro smiled. "I think we're gonna be just fine."

I held up out my hand. "Friends?"

Pietro put my hand down and hugged me instead. In a soft whisper he replied "Friends."

We let go of each other and laughed. "Hard to believe it took us two years to do something as simple as that."

"You always _were_ the stubborn one," Pietro smirked.

I faked a shocked face and laughed. "Oh _I'm_ the stubborn one?"

We fell into laughter as the professor wheeled himself in and smiled. "I trust you two have worked out your issues."

"We sure have," I smiled. "So when are we gonna do this again?"

"Tomorrow," Professor X replied. "Same time and throughout the rest of the week until you two have learned how to trust each other again."

"Sounds okay to me," Pietro shrugged.

"Then it's settled," Professor X confirmed. "The session is over you're free to go."

"But what about the exercise you had planned?" I asked.

"What can I say? The best way to make a baby bird fly is to give it a little nudge," the professor cryptically said.

I gave the professor a look. "Oooh! You never had anything planned. You just wanted us to talk!"

"Guilty as charged," Professor X chuckled.

"Wow, he's good," Pietro nodded in approval.

"Well, might as well get going," I said as I walked toward the door. "Thank you professor. For everything."

"You're quite welcome," he replied.

Pietro and I exited his study and walked into the foyer to find Alex just getting in with shopping bags and luggage pieces.

"Alex!" I happily called as I ran to give him a hug. I looked at the bags on the floor in confusion. "What's going on babe?"

"Well I talked to my parents earlier and they said that they really miss me so they want me to fly to Hawaii next week," Alex explained with an ecstatic look on his face. "Isn't that amazing?"

"Oh I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed until it hit me. "Wait you're going to be gone the entire week?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "But who says you're not coming with me?"

"You're taking me with you?" I excitedly shouted. I jumped in his arms and kissed him "Oh baby, I love you so much."

"My parents have been dying to meet the girl I've been talking about for so long," Alex said. "And they want to meet my brother, so Scott and Jean are coming too."

"Ooh, this is so exciting an entire week in Hawaii!" I clamored as I giggled madly. "I have to do some much shopping-"

"Ah, no need," Alex said as he put me down. He reached down to grab a bag and handed it to me. "I took the liberty of doing your shopping for you."

I reached into the bag and pulled out the most beautiful Hawaiian dress I've ever seen. "Oh my goodness this is gorgeous." I checked the tag and gasped. "It's even in my size! But how did you know?"

"We've been dating for a year, Mina," Alex said before kissing my nose. "I know what my girl loves and what size she is."

"Aww," I adoringly said as I kissed him. I continued to rifle through the bag. "I'm gonna look so good in these clothes!"

"You're gonna look even better out of the," Alex whispered as he hungrily eyed me before picking me up bridal style. "Come here you."

Alex kissed me as he started carrying me toward the stairs. Through my laughter I exclaimed "Alex! Baby! What about the bags?"

"They can wait," Alex dismissed as we disappeared up the stairs.

Pietro, who had seen the whole exchange between Alex and Semina, looked dejectedly at the stairs before walking outside for some fresh air.

A/N: Aww, I feel kinda bad for Pietro...but not too bad. And am I the only one who thinks Alex Summers deserves the "Boyfriend of the Year" award? I just love them as a couple! Don't forget to review this chapter and tell me what you though! Oh and no Alex and Semina did NOT have sex. I have an entire plan for that later on in the story.


	9. New Wounds and Old Scars

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Come on guys, keep those reviews coming! ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

New Wounds and Old Scars

Today was the day. Aunt Viv was coming home and I was overjoyed. I couldn't help but notice that a furry blue beast was also as excited. Hank hadn't stopped smiling since I told him her plane touched down. But I couldn't figure out why he was excited to have her home. Anyway here I was with Alex standing out on my balcony waiting for her cab to pull in.

"Babe, I don't think staring at the gate will make her get here any faster," Alex laughed. "It doesn't work that way."

"You're right," I sighed. "I should stare _**harder**_!"

"That's not what I-" he began before I let out a happy squeal.

"SHE'S HERE!" I exclaimed. Being to excited to take the stairs I just made a water disk and floated down to the cab instead.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Alex mused with an amused look on his face.

I hopped off my water disk and ran to hug her. "Aunt Viv! You're back!" I flung myself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Hello to you too," Vivian laughed as she hugged me back. "Nice to see you again. I missed you."

"I missed you too," I smiled as we broke our hug. "So where's your surprise? Is it exotic food? Is it for me?"

Vivian threw her head back in laughter. She looked so giddy all of a sudden that I became confused. "No it's not food."

Just then a man stepped out of the cab. He was tall, very built in his upper body, had a short beard and his hair was tied back in a small ponytail. His dark brown eyes flickered from slowly from the mansion to my aunt then to me. He walked toward me and smiled with an extended hand. "You must be Semina. Vivian told me _all_ about you. I'm Dr. Robert Windsor, pleased to finally meet you."

"The feeling is likewise I guess," I cautiously said as I shook his hand. "Not to be rude but who are you?"

"Semina, honey, this is my boyfriend," Vivian answered as she linked her hand in his. "I said I was bringing home a surprise...well surprise!"

"Boyfriend?" I exclaimed. I wasn't sure how I felt about this but seeing that look of joy on my aunts face made me just as happy. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!" I gave her another hug. I picked up her bags and said "Come inside and tell me everything!"

My aunt paid the cab driver and the three of us proceeded inside. Vivian was enthusiastically greeted by the all the patrons of the house the moment she walked in the door but it was Hank who seemed to have the brightest smile in the room the second he saw her.

"Welcome back, Vivian. I hope you had fun on your vacation," Professor X smiled as he approached her. After she bent down to hug him he looked peculiarly at the man that was accompanying her. "Oh, I didn't realize you had brought a guest."

"Professor Charles Xavier," Robert said as he made a motion to shake his hand. Their hands connected and the professor warily shook it as he eyed him suspiciously. "I've heard many great things about you and your institute. I must say I'm a fan of the work you do to benefit mutant kind."

"And just who exactly are you?" Hank defensively asked. I saw him tense up slightly and raised an eyebrow. Hank has been acting strange lately and I figured I would get to the bottom of it later.

"Oh right," Vivian said as she pushed Robert in front of her. "Everyone, this is my boyfriend Dr. Robert Windsor. We met in Monte Carlo when he sat next to me on a train back to my hotel. We started going on a few dates and when I found out he lived just outside of Bayville we decided to start officially dating. Isn't that great?"

Hank froze. For a moment he looked as if he had been slapped in the face but he quickly recovered and faked a smile. Had I still been able to sense people's emotions I would have felt his heart being ripped clean from his chest. But I didn't have to be an empath to finally figure out what was wrong with him. Hank was in love with my aunt. Come to think of it, that explained a lot of things now. The way he seemed to get nervous when she was around, the way he zones out when she walks out of a room and they did live together when they were my age so maybe at one point they had a thing going on. However it seemed, in Hank's case, that those feelings never died.

The professor, who had been staring intensely at the man who he thought looked eerily familiar, snapped out of his stupor and replied "That's wonderful. I recall Vivian mentioning that you were a doctor. And what may I ask do you do for a living _Dr_. Windsor?"

"I'm a geneticist and biologist," Robert replied. "I too work with mutants. I've recently been working on a theory that mutants have a specific gene within them that will essentially mutate their current X-Gene and evolve into a more superior mutant. Far more powerful than the average mutant. The data so far has been inconclusive but I'm very close to cracking the genetic code to unlocking that hidden gene."

"That's a very interesting theory, Dr. Windsor," Professor X said. "A little far fetched but it could very well be true. Why don't you and I speak further about your theory in my study? Hank would you mind coming with us?"

"Not at all, professor," Hank evenly spoke as he eyed Robert with a cold, hard glare.

"As for the rest of you, don't forget you have a training session today. I want you all suited up and ready to begin in the Danger Room in half an hour," Professor X reminded us as he left with Hank and Robert. Anthony and Kurt volunteered to help carry Vivian's bags upstairs while the remainder of the mutants in the foyer stayed behind to talk.

"Oh man," Todd loudly groaned. "Not the Danger Room."

"I forget," Fred witlessly voiced as he scratched his head. "What's the Danger Room?"

"Remember that big metal room we fought Juggernaut in?" Lance asked. "_That's_ the Danger Room. I swear it's like torture in there."

"Oh come on," I said as I noticed the slightly nervous looks on Todd and Fred's faces. "It's not _that_ bad, Lance. You surviv- I mean completed training in there."

Lance simply shrugged his shoulders. "It _was_ tough at first but you'll get the hang of it."

"Yeah, it's like sunshine and unicorns in there," LaToya smiled as she clapped her hands together. "Except with rotating knives."

"And lasers," Kitty chimed in.

"And buzzsaws," Rogue added.

"Ooh and don't forget the fire shooting cannons," said a laughing Alex.

I frowned at the slightly spooked expressions on their faces. "Don't worry, guys. You won't have to go through that," I soothed. Their faces swept with relief before I grinned mischievously. "That's only the intermediate level. We train at a much higher level than that."

"Semina, stop exaggerating," Jean chided. Not even Jean could stop the devious smile that sprouted across her face. "That's the _beginner's_ level at least."

While the Brotherhood appeared to be shaken by our words, the rest of us couldn't help but laugh. Even Scott managed to get a laugh or two in. Amidst the laughter I couldn't help but notice that Alex and Pietro seemed to be giving each other the stink eye. I rolled my eyes at them and sighed. What was I going to do with these very, very stubborn guys? They couldn't be a few feet apart from each other without looking like they wanted to kill each other. I had to think of a way to get these two to stop hating each other...or at least learn to deal with each other.

Scott was the first to speak after the laughter finally died down. "Okay, okay. That's enough. We should all start going to get changed for the session."

Jean let out one more giggle before she agreed with him. "Scott's right. We don't have much time left."

In the Danger Room

Ororo stood before all of us in the Danger Room, waiting for our idle talking to cease before she spoke. "Today's session should be fairly easy. All you have to do is make it from the starting line to the finishing line with every last member in this room-"

"Piece of cake," Pietro confidently interrupted.

She threw him a look that made him quickly shut his mouth. "-while making it through this obstacle course," Ororo finished. "Computer, run obstacle course AB-27."

"_Initializing obstacle course_," the computer responded. The Danger Room activated it's programming as the floor began to add pits, inclines and spinning electrical devices while a number of new cannons and weapons popped out from the walls.

"Watch out for unforeseen challenges and be prepared for anything," Ororo advised as she walked toward the door. Before she left she called back "And remember, the simulation will stop only when everyone has made it across the finishing line. Good luck."

We immediately sprang into action when the buzzer to start the session sounded. Our first obstacle was a large metal wall which we had to find a way over. Everyone had their own way unique way of getting over the wall. Shadowcat phased as many people as she could through it, Jean had levitated herself and Cyclops over the wall while Nightcrawler took Rogue's gloved hand and simply teleported to the other side of it. I gathered as much water from the air as I could and made a disk large enough for me and Havok to float over. After all the mutants passed over the wall, our next obstacle come almost immediately. A wall opened up and an army of floating cannons were released. As they opened fire we realized that they weren't shooting lasers but electrified nets. Most people dodged them but Blob, Toad, Siren and Multiple weren't as lucky. Cyclops, Havok, Magma and Boom Boom teamed up to took out the cannons while X-23 cut the trapped mutants out of their netting. All of a sudden four large walls popped up from the floor and surrounded me along with Jubilee, Wolfsbane, Berserker, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Polaris.

"We're boxed in." I knocked on the wall, looked up and growled. "The walls were too high to climb and this metal is thick. It's gonna take me some time to get us out. "

"Allow me to take care of it," Polaris said as she put her hands out in front of her. Her green eyes glowed brightly and her bright lime green hair stood on end as the metal walls of the box began to twist and bend. I had always been wary of Lorna because her powers were so similar to Magneto's you'd think they were related. But she wasn't. Her parents both died in a plane crash and she was raised by foster parents so that basically ruled out any possible ties to him. But nonetheless she was still able to manipulate metal just as Magneto does and I guess that's one of the reasons I stayed away from her. Soon enough she had created an exit for us.

"Oh well that works too," I shrugged as I restrained the urge to scowl.

Quicksilver looked over at his sister and saw she had the same expression he had on. Did that girl have powers just like their father?Judging from the way she looked there was no way they were related but it couldn't be a _coincidence_ that she and Magneto shared the same exact powers.

After we all exited the box I turned the communicator on my wrist on and called Cyclops. "Cyclops how far did your group get?"

"The rest of us were separated but Havok, Iceman, Magma, Nightcrawler, Sunspot, Rogue and Shadowcat are here with me. We can see the finish line and it isn't far away. I don't see anything that will stop from- wait. Everyone look out!"

And with that his end of the conversation fizzled out. "Cyclops! CYCLOPS!" I hit the wall next to me. "Damn it! I lost him. Something's wrong. We need to get over fast."

I know this sounds mean but I was worried more about Havok than Cyclops. After all, he was my boyfriend. I hear a large boom from the other side of the Danger Room and went into full on leader mode.

"Okay team, we need to get over there as fast as possible," I voiced. "By now the other half of us that got separated are probably there by now. So we're taking the easy way there."

"There's an easy way there?" Wolfsbane asked.

I smirked. "Yes. Yes there is." I sat on the floor, crossed my legs Indian style and closed my eyes.

"You're just going to sit there?" Quicksilver inquired in disbelief.

"Shh!" I hissed at him without opening my eyes. "Don't break my concentration. Everyone move in closer." Rather than take their chance with my temper the rest of the mutants did as I said. There was a new technique I was working on and I figured now was as good a time as any to try it out. I kept my breathing steady and even as I slowly gathered every ounce of water that was in the air. Soon the water I was gathering formed underneath our feet and began to surround us in a giant bubble.

Quicksilver watched in awe as the group of mutants now stood in a giant water bubble . He looked at Tsunami, who still had her eyes closed in concentration as she began to glow slightly and her long hair billowed wildly above her head. She slowly opened her eyes which were illuminated by a blue light and made the bubble along with everyone in it ascend high into the air.

"I'm only going to say this once," I slowly began. "It's as simple as this: if I lose concentration then we pop and go splat...so don't distract me."

I guided our bubble over the obstacles of the Danger Room as quickly as possible. I've never been able to hold the bubble this long especially with so many people in it so I was getting worried as to how long I could keep this up, though I already knew it wasn't going to be long. We were getting closer to where I lost communication with Cyclops when I heard a faint whirring noise, the kind of noise something made when it was...charging up.

'Shit,' I mentally cursed as the large cannon rose from the floor and pointed itself at the bubble. I tried my best to remain calm and maneuver around the cannon but it fired and hit the bubble nonetheless. With the bubble's form now disrupted and my concentration shot, I lost my control over the water and me along with the five other mutants I was carrying fell out of the air.

'Okay, Mina,' I thought to myself. 'You got one shot.' As we continued to fall, I looked down and quickly made a water trampoline large enough to catch all of the mutants before they hit the ground. They should harmlessly fall into my makeshift net once we came closer to the ground. I looked back up at the cannon and gasped as I saw it charging up for another attack.

"Scarlet Witch!" I yelled to get her attention. She was falling stomach first and hadn't hit the net yet when she veered her head around to look at me. "Can you take out that cannon?"

"I can try!" she yelled back. The Scarlet Witch rotated her body so that her back was now falling first and sent out a massive wave of chaos magic that engulfed the cannon in it's blue glow. The cannon rattled and shook before exploding accelerating the speed of our fall. Luckily the net I made held up just barely as we hit the surface of it.

"Is everyone okay?" I panted, as I shakily stepped off the net. "Anyone hurt?"

"No, we're okay," Wolfsbane answered. "A little shaken up but we're fine."

"Shaken up? I'm still shaking," Berserker exclaimed as he rubbed his arms. "And I think I'm afraid of heights now."

If Ray could still crack a joke at a time like this then he was just fine. From what I saw, we were only a little behind Jean whose vibrant red hair made her easy to distinguish from everyone. Because the obstacle course ran the circumference of the Danger Room and there was a large elevated platform in the middle of the room to keep us from simply walking across it, my little group and I could only see our teammates and not the danger that stood in front of them. As we got closer and closer to them with wide and surprised eyes we saw the giant Sentinel like robot that stood before us. It was much smaller than an actual Sentinel but the design was pretty much spot on. The other groups seemed to have no trouble getting past it because the object of the session wasn't to completely destroy the Sentinel but to find a way around it and cross the finish line. That was easier said than done seeing as how this Sentinel could shoot energy blasts, had a buzzsaw launcher, a missiles system, a rapid fire laser cannon and wouldn't you know, it had laser eyes too.

"The professor really isn't going to make this easy on us is he?" I smirked lightly as a chuckle escaped my throat. "Well challenge accepted."

Usually I would be the first person to charge at it but imagine my surprise when Berserker let out a loud whoop before charging up and running past me. I guess he was eager to get in on some action since Team Beta had fewer missions than Team Alpha. Following his approach, I ran after him while gathering water from the air and sent a small wave at it's chest that caused it stumble back but retaliate by firing a couple of buzzsaws at me. I dodged each one with ease but as I landed on the last attempt to avoid them my left leg went out from under me. I really need to work on my landings. This is the second time I landed on my leg wrong and if this were a real battle I'd be dead by now. While I sat on the floor rubbing my now pain ridden leg, the Sentinel launched another round of buzzsaws and I tried to deflect them from my position on the floor with quick blasts of water but I could get every single one. The last buzzsaw came speeding at me but that wasn't the only thing that came speeding at me. Once again Quicksilver had rushed over to rescue me.

"Right on schedule," I smirked. My own pride wouldn't allow myself to properly thank him in order to avoid dealing with a slightly pompous remark that was bound to follow.

"Is that all the thanks I get?" he asked.

"Were you expecting more?" I only half joked. Didn't the thank you go without needing to be said? I refuse to stroke his ego because we all know it was already huge.

An electric crackle and the sound of a machine being powered down was heard throughout the Danger Room. I turned my head to see Berserker and the Scarlet Witch standing side by side shutting down the Sentinel. Now that that was over all that was left to be done was walk across the finish line, or limp across in my case. Realizing I was still in Quicksilver's arms, I pushed him away from me as I stood on my own two feet.

"I don't need you to carry me," I pridefully quipped as I began limping toward the finish line. This whole damsel in distress routine was getting tiresome. As the last of us crossed the line a loud buzz sounded signaling the end of the session. Storm came in briefly to congratulate us on our teamwork before telling us lunch was ready. A few stragglers hung out in the Danger Room while everyone else headed upstairs for food.

"Babe, how's your leg?" Alex inquired as he rubbed my arms. He had already crossed the finish line when I had that encounter with the Sentinel and was reassured by my sister to stay put because she said I could save myself. That technically wasn't the case and Alex thought I couldn't see the glares he was throwing Pietro's way. He was grateful that Pietro saved me but Alex still wished that he had been the one to do it.

"A little sore but I'll live,"I replied as I shifted all my weight to my right leg. "I just wish I hadn't gotten that serious of an injury when I was younger. I didn't know it could still hurt two years later. It's seriously holding back my combat skills." I flashed back to how I sustained the injury in the first place and shivered slightly. The memory was still very painful for me but time helps you deal with it.

Alex felt me shiver and wrapped me in his muscular arms. "At least one good thing came out of you hurting your leg; I got to officially meet you in Mexico."

"Aww, for you, I'd hurt my leg any day," I chuckled as I heard my stomach growl. "How about you and I go get changed then have lunch in the gazebo so we can have some alone time and watch the sun reflect on the waves?"

"Are you asking me out?" Alex asked with a very phony shocked expression. "This is so sudden. I just don't know what to say!"

"Then don't say a thing." I pulled him down for a kiss. I always did love the height difference between me and Alex. It made kissing him a little more romantic because I had to get on my tippy toes just like in those cheesy romance movies I like to make fun of.

I felt a sharp pain in my left arm and broke the kiss to look over at Pietro just in time to see him grab his arm. When he removed his hand it was damp with his own blood. Quickly separating myself from my boyfriend, I limped over to him as fast as I could with a worried look on my face. "Oh no, you're hurt." I don't even remember seeing him get hit with that buzzsaw but sure enough there was a shallow horizontal crimson line on his arm.

"Oh this? It's nothing," Pietro shrugged off as he straightened up. "Just a flesh wound. No big deal."

I chuckled lightly. "You and your pride." I pointed to the floor. "Now sit down and let me heal that for you." He smiled softly as he actually did what I said without putting up a fight. I drew some water from the air, made a disk with it and pressed it against his arm as I began the healing process. "Wow, I haven't had to heal you since you took that bullet for me. Why do you keep coming to my rescue all the time? I _can_ take care of myself you know. I've been doing that for years. Not that I'm complaining about being rescued, but it's weird to see you worry about someone other than yourself and Wanda."

"I don't know," Pietro lied as he look at his arm. "I kinda figured I would have no one to annoy if you ever disappeared."

"Aww isn't that cute?" I teased as I finished healing his wound and pinched his cheek. "You care about me."

A pinkish tint crawled onto his pale cheeks before he swatted my hand away and irritatedly mumbled "Yeah well don't make something of it."

I shook my head. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." I looked back at Alex to see him still waiting for me with a very frustrated look on his face I might add. He was so cute when he was jealous. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch date."

Pietro watched as Mina walked to join her boyfriend who gave Pietro a death look before turning around to help her limp toward the door. Normally he would feel the slightest bit jealous but he couldn't help but notice that Mina's eyes looked a little sad as she walked away from him. Almost as if she didn't want to leave his company. As they walked toward the exit of the Danger Room he shook the thought out of his head. Maybe he just over-analyzing things. But when Mina and Alex entered the elevator he plainly saw the smile and wave she gave him before the elevator doors closed. Pietro smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn't over-analyzing things.

* * *

><p>A dark figure entered the Danger Room and proceeded to make their way to the control panel. It was nighttime so they knew they couldn't set off any alarms. Lucky for them, they had the access codes to the Danger Room. The dark figure stood in front of one of the monitors replaying the footage of the session that had taken place earlier and nodded their head approvingly. The person seemed to especially pay attention to the Jean and Semina. On one screen Jean was using her telekinesis to stop two six ton orbs at the same time almost effortlessly and on the other screen was Semina who had gathered all the water from the air to make that very impressive water bubble.<p>

"Yes, these two seem to be the most powerful in the group," the low male voice commented as he stared intently at the screens. "They'll make excellent subjects." The man plugged a device into the control panel and downloaded the footage as he chuckled darkly.

A few days later

Pietro and I sat in the professor's study for our very last trust building session. We've made a lot of progress within the limited time frame and I was surprised that two hard headed people such as ourselves could set aside their differences that quickly. We had to "break down the wall" we had built between us to stop the silly bickering that occurred when he first got here. What the professor basically did was have the both of us talk about what we've been keeping from each other for so long. Some of them were related to our emotions but the rest were simple secrets we couldn't bring ourselves to tell.

"Our last session already," Pietro smiled as he sat with his leg propped on his other leg. "I'm going miss talking about my feelings and junk."

"That was quite a week professor. I feel like we really aired things out." I stretched my arms up, causing my shirt to move slightly up.

"Not everything," Pietro said as he looked at my stomach. "You never told me what that scar was."

I quickly pulled my shirt down but it was already too late to try to hide it again. Suddenly the smell of blood filled my nostrils and I became a little dizzy. "D-do I really have to? I mean it's nothing."

"Mina, we're bonded," Pietro pointed out. "I could always find out myself but I'd rather you tell me."

I looked at the professor with desperate eyes. "Professor I really don't want to talk about it."

The professor sighed deeply as he laced his hands in the way he usually does when he's thinking. "I understand that you don't want to talk about it but I feel that now is the best time to tell him."

"Tell me what?" Pietro asked as his eyes shifted back and forth from me and the professor.

I released a shaky breath and began my story. "Last year I got really sick and underwent some minor surgery. That's all."

"What do you mean 'minor surgery'?" he questioned.

"Just a kidney transplant," I mumbled.

Pietro's jaw slightly dropped. "A kidney transplant? What the hell happened?"

"Remember how I got hit with Bolivar Trask's serum that made me lose my powers?" Pietro nodded. "Well even though the serum had completely left my blood there were some...unexpected complications. Hank said that the serum had somehow fused with my genetic code which apparently had some side effects. Loss of appetite, chronic fatigue, dizzy spells; that sort of thing. I saw myself getting paler but I figured it was from my lack of sleep and poor diet. I thought that was as bad as it would get but then one day in the middle of a training session I started sweating all over, I couldn't breathe, I had chills and eventually I threw up blood then collapsed. They took me to the med bay and Hank said that he'd never seen anything like it. My entire body was just going haywire and there was no way to pinpoint the exact cause because my whole body was out of whack. Apparently what ever that serum did to me caused my right kidney to get infected and it had to be taken out before it spread to the left kidney. A kidney transplant was easy but finding a donor was the hard part. There were only two people who were a match to be a donor."

"LaToya and Anthony right?" Pietro guessed.

"No," I said shaking my head. "And to this day I don't understand why. LaToya, Anthony and I are closely related so they should have been a match but they weren't."

"So who were the two people who matched you?" he asked.

"Jean and Bobby," I replied. "Bobby was too young to consent to a transplant on his own but Jean-" I let out a sad chuckle. "Jean wanted to donate for me in a heartbeat. I owe her my life."

"Where was Vivian when this happened?" Pietro asked.

"Lying in the bed next to me," I answered. "The same thing that was happening to me was happening to her since she was injected with the serum too. Anthony was a match and so was LaToya but Anthony was older so he was the donor."

Pietro saw my eyes brimming with tears at the awful memory and placed his steady hand my shaking hand. "Why did you wait so long to tell me this?"

Tears steadily rolled down my cheeks as I avoided his eyes. "I didn't think you cared about me anymore."

"Why would you think that?" he asked.

"Because..." I looked at him before snatching my hand away from his. "Because you weren't there for me! I thought I was going to die and you didn't care! You knew that I was in pain but you didn't **once** check up on me! But do you know who was in that seat next to the bed everyday? Alex. He cared enough to stay by my side when I needed someone there. We weren't even dating at the time and he still cared more than you did! That's why I couldn't trust you anymore! Because you weren't there." I was now openly bawling and I clenched my fists tightly. My voice fell to an inaudible whisper "Why weren't you there?"

"Semina, I-I..." Pietro was at a loss for words. He knew why he wasn't there for her but, as stupid as it sounded, he didn't want to say it in front of the professor. Talking about his feelings was one thing but this was something coming straight from the heart and he thought if the professor saw this weak side of him that he would never live it down.

The professor sensed that Pietro was hesitating because of him and nodded in compliance before quietly leaving the room.

"Semina, listen to me," Pietro said as I slowly lifted my head to look at him. He was turned the other way so I couldn't see anything more than half of his face. "The reason I wasn't there for you was because I was...scared. I couldn't bring myself to come here and watch you suffer again. I went through enough of that when you were attacked by Sabertooth. I didn't want to watch you leave me. I can't even bear the thought of you abandoning me now." A single tear dripped down his face before he quickly wiped it away and turned around to face me with a slight smirk. "I've grown...attached to you over the years okay and life would kinda sorta suck without you."

I sniffled and look at him sideways. "Do you really mean that?"

Pietro looked at me like I was dumb. "If I didn't mean it why would I say it?"

"I'll take that as a yes," I half smiled. "Wow, it looks like Pietro Maximoff has a soft side for me."

Pietro wanted to make an arrogant remark but to his own surprise, he didn't. "Don't flatter yourself," he joked. "And if you breathe a word of this to anyone I will pick you up and drop you off in Australia."

I chuckled before I motioned that my lips were sealed. (We're done professor. You can come back in niw.)

The professor came back in with a smile on his face. "I'm very proud of you two. It seems that all you two needed to trust each other was to just talk about what you've been holding in. I trust there won't be anymore violent and angry arguments between you two from now own?"

"With this one, I make no promises," I chortled. "But I promise I'll do my best."

"Same here, I guess," Pietro shrugged.

"I couldn't ask for anymore," the professor grinned. "Well your trust building sessions are now over. You're free to go."

Pietro and I walked out of the professor's study and looked at each other.

"So now what?" I asked, not knowing what to do.

"Dunno," he shrugged. An awkward silence passed between us before he spoke up. "I guess I'll, uh, see you around."

"Yeah, okay," I said as I shuffled from foot to foot uneasily. Pietro then turned to walk away but it was as if I had no control over my mouth as I called after him. "Wait!" He looked back at me and I looked away. I don't know what made me call him back but I feel like there was something I had to do or say. "Um..."

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I felt my body walk toward him and as I stood before him looking up into his cerulean eyes, searching for something I didn't know. Next thing I knew I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. He hesitated slightly before placing his arms around my waist and returning the hug. Just as Pietro melted into the hug, I tensed up and quickly backed away from him. Without another word or even a look in his direction I walked up the stairs and into my room.

Pietro was left standing in the middle of the foyer with a look of confusion on his face as he tried to process what just happened.

A/N: What was that all about? Weird...anyway onto the next chapter. It's finally time to go to Hawaii! Meeting the Masters should be fun. Oh and I remember when I first posted this story that someone had asked what changed between Mina and Jean to make them become friends, well there's your answer. Don't forget to review this chapter and tell me what you thought!


	10. Hawaiian Getaway

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I know it's been a while since I last updated but I had a very close friend leave for the Armed Forces on Monday so I've been really bummed about it and wasn't able to finish this quicker. Not to mention I tried to hang out with him as much as I could before he left. Anyway, the time has come for a nice relaxing mini vacation in Hawaii...just kidding. When have I ever made anything easy for Mina? ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Hawaiian Getaway

"Let me just start by saying that this place is absolutely breathtaking," I fawned as I stared out of the window of our taxi van. I've been in awe of Hawaii since the moment we arrived in the island of Oahu on this beautiful Sunday evening. Everything seemed better here. The colors were more vibrant, the air was crisper, the sounds were peaceful and the sights were indescribable.

"It's absolutely stunning here," Jean breathed as she took in the passing scenery. "I can't believe that one place could be so beautiful."

"If you think this is beautiful, wait 'til you see where I live," Alex said. "It's a city named Haleiwa. It's only a stone's throw away from Waimea Bay and you won't believe the view of the ocean that we have."

"So how much longer until we reach your house?" Scott asked.

"We're not too far now," Alex replied. "We should be there in five, maybe ten minutes tops. Oh man, I'm so excited to see my foster parents again."

My stomach began to knot at the mention of Alex's foster parents. Sure they're not his _biological_ parents but they're the closest things he had to real parents and I was worried if they would like me or not.

"Mina, calm down." I heard Alex say as he lightly stroked my arm. "You don't have to worry about meeting my foster parents, they'll love you."

"What makes you think I'm worried?" I retorted with a pout.

Alex chuckled and kissed my forehead. "How many times do I have to say that I _know_ you Mina? Trust me, they're gonna love you as much as I do." Alex took my hand in his and I gave it an appreciative squeeze. This guy really knew how to make a girl feel loved.

"Oh look up there! There's my house!" Alex exclaimed as he pointed out of the window at a large house atop a lush green hill. The van made its way up the hill to a large two story house. It was painted a bold yellow color with white trim and in front of the house stood a man and a woman that instantly assumed were the Masters. The van screeched to a halt as we parked in front of Mr. and Mrs. Masters. I had never been so nervous to meet two people in my entire life. Sure I met Pietro's dad but that was Magneto and this is completely different. These people were normal human beings who don't hate me the way Magneto does and I intended on keeping it that way. Scott and Jean had climbed out of the van to retrieve their luggage while Alex enthusiastically greeted his foster parents. He pointed to the van where I was still hiding and walked over to get me.

"Why are you hiding in here?" Alex asked as leaned against the vans sliding door. "They're dying to meet you."

I scoffed. "I'm not hiding."

"Mina, they're my foster parents, not monsters, Alex said before he held out his hand. "Come on. I'm gonna be right by your side the entire time."

I took a deep breath and took his hand. I followed him out of the van and as we neared his parents my heart seemed to be beating out of my chest. Mr. Masters was tall, maybe 6'2", looked to be in his late forties but still retained a very youthful glow. He had chocolate brown hair that connected with his beard and goatee. He wore a pair of denim shorts with white undershirt underneath a light blue collared shirt that was unbuttoned all the way down. Mrs. Masters was not as tall and looked to be just a little shorter than Alex. She had long jet black hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a royal blue tank top with a matching floral sarong wrap skirt. The moment the Masters saw me they gasped.

"_This_ is your girlfriend?" Mr. Masters questioned as they both walked over to get a closer look at me. My stomach dropped when I heard that. How could they not like me already? We just met! Even Alex looked shocked at his foster dad's remark. "Well this can't be right. She's much too pretty for you!"

"Wait...what?" I asked in disbelief. Was he...joking with me?

"Alex, you said that your girlfriend was cute but I never thought she'd be so nani." She rushed over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh you're such a pretty girl. My Alex is so lucky to have you."

"Um, thank you," I wheezed out from her bear hug. She had quite the grip. " Um...nani means pretty right?"

"It means _beautiful_ dear which is exactly what you are," Mrs. Masters replied.

Mr. Masters smiled. "You haven't been here one full day and you already have some knowledge of our unique language. Tell me, how'd you pick up our lingo so quickly?"

"One of my many talents Mr. Masters," I smiled.

"Oh please call me Andrew," he said as he patted shoulder.

Mrs. Masters piped up and said "And you can call me Joanna if you'd like. Or you can call us makuahine and makuakane seeing as how you're practically family already." Joanna giggled as she saw the blush creeping onto her foster son's cheeks.

"But we've just met!" I chuckled. Makuahine and makuakane means mom and dad in the Hawaiian language. I guess Andrew and Joanna are already ready for Alex to seal the deal with me.

"Mom! We're not-, I mean, I haven't-,"Alex sputtered. I kissed his cheek to calm him down. "Five minutes back home and you've already embarrassed me in front of my girlfriend."

"Well what did you expect son?" Andrew guffawed. A warm salty wind blew. "Oh what are we doing standing out here? Come inside! Let us welcome you all into our home."

We entered the house and I began to take in the décor. Bamboo flooring, beige furniture set, beautiful paintings adorned the walls, there was a shaggy white rug in front of the fireplace and to the left of this living room was a sliding glass door that led out to the porch. The next thing I took notice of was the smell of food. My stomach growled to let its presence be known. I hadn't eaten since we left the airport and whatever Joanna was cooking smelled terrific.

"Looks like someone is hungry," Joanna remarked as my stomach once again growled. "Lucky for you I already made dinner. Follow me to the dining room."

The dining room had a large table set up in the middle of it with a huge spread of food on it.

"What about our bags?" Scott asked. "Shouldn't we put them upstairs first?"

"That can wait, Scott, my boy," Andrew said. "Dinner is going to get cold! Come on, let's sit down and dig in!"

I looked at the huge spread of food on the table and eyed each thing hungrily. There was a large tray of manapua*, kalua pork* with cabbage and chicken long rice*.

'An authentic hawaiian dinner is one of the reasons I looked forward to coming here,' I exclaimed. 'I can't believe they went to all the trouble of making this for us.'

"Everything looks delicious, Joanna," Jean remarked. She took a deep inhale. "And it smells even better."

"Well wait 'til you taste it," Joanna winked.

After dinner

Dinner was absolutely delicious. I've never tasted such unique and different flavors before. The only thing better than dinner was dessert. Joanna had brought out the most scrumptious pineapple upside cake I've ever had. We ate dessert in the living room while Joanna and Andrew decided to get to know me better. They were such nice people who seemed to like me a lot. I was relieved that they did and so was their foster son. Alex did nothing to hide the approving smile he had on his face throughout the entire conversation. I guess this is the closest I would get of the "parental" stamp of approval. After dinner we all retreated to our rooms to turn in for the night. Jean and Scott shared the guest room while I made myself cozy in Alex's old room.

"I love it here," I proclaimed as I flopped down into his bed. "I wouldn't mind staying for longer than a week."

Alex laughed. "That would be nice. Get away from the city life for a little bit. No noise, no Sentinels, no college exams. Just the two of us on the island lounging on the beach."

"You know we always could come back for a romantic getaway for two," I cooed as I turned on my side to look at him. "I mean we do have a private jet."

"Yeah but the next time I take you here I want it to be for a special occasion," Alex said as he laid down next to me and matched my pose on the bed. "It would still be the two of us but I'd make sure we would be staying at the finest hotel in all of Hawaii. More specifically in a suite for couples only."

"Preferably a couples only suite with a big heart shaped bed covered in rose petals," I added. "With some nice champagne and hot tub made for two."

Alex sighed. "It'll be a getaway to remember." He propped himself up on his elbows and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. "I'm hoping we can make that happen really soon."

I smiled softly and replied "The feeling is mutual."

Alex kissed me once more before saying "We should get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I wanna show you Waimea Bay Beach Park. I guarantee you're gonna love it."

"Well if you say that I'll love it then I already do," I giggled before giving him one last kiss. "Goodnight baby."

* * *

><p>After eating a wonderful breakfast, courtesy of Joanna, Scott, Jean, Alex and I headed to the beach in Alex's old jeep. The beach was crowded when we got there but Alex managed to find a near perfect spot for the four of us. When we finished unpacking all of our beach necessities, we laid down a large blanket on the sand and began our day.<p>

"Hmm, feel that nice ocean breeze?" Jean said as she basked in the warmth of the sun.

"Yeah, it's nice to be somewhere peaceful for a change," Scott agreed as he stretched himself out on the blanket.

"Wow Scott, I've never seen you so loosened up," I remarked. "You should go on vacation more often."

"I wish I could but I do have a team to lead," Scott sighed. At the mention of the X-Men he promptly sat up. "I wonder how everyone's doing? Maybe I should check up on them."

"No, no, no. We're on vacation so you don't need to worry about that," Jean dismissed as she pushed him back down. "I'm sure Kurt can handle being in charge of the team."

"Jean's right," I agreed. "He's been at the mansion long enough to know how to lead everyone."

"Hey are we going to keep talking about the X-Men or are we going to enjoy the beach?" Alex asked as he zipped up his wetsuit and grabbed his surfboard. "You mainlanders can stay here if you want but I'm hitting the waves. Care to join me, my nani wai akua wahine*?"

I blushed slightly. "Aww, you're too sweet. Of course, my u'i, nohea he'e nalu ali'i*."

After I got the extra board out of his jeep, I paddled out on it to meet Alex who was already in the water. He looked a little frustrated as I paddled up next to him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's still summer so the waves aren't very tall," Alex pouted. "These are ankle busters*! I'm a professional surfer! I need more of a challenge."

"Let me take care of that," I winked as I dipped both hands in the water. The water began to crash and rock as large waves began to form. "Surf's up! Last one in the pipeline is a grommet*!"

We paddled out and each took a separate wave. Alex looked back in his element as he pulled out all of his best moves while still managing to keep perfect balance. I, on the other hand, was simply controlling the water underneath me to make sure I didn't wipe out in front of everyone. Alex had been giving me surfing lessons but I fond that it was easier to just cheat a little. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the very handsome guy surfing the wave next to mine and failed to notice the surfer that dropped in on my wave until I had wiped out and found myself underwater. I swam to the surface and gasped for air while my surfboard floated up to me.

"What the hell is your problem?" I angrily yelled at the surfer who caused my wipe out. "Are you some kind of kook*?"

Alex who had seen me fall of of my board and into the water left his wave and paddled over to me. "Whoa, baby, are you okay? What just happened?"

"I'm fine, just a little embarrassed," I admitted. "Some grom dropped in on my wave!"

The rude surfer finally made their way off of my wave and paddled over to Alex and I. As they neared I saw that the surfer was female, a very beautiful one I might add. Short brown hair, defined cheekbones, a sparkling smile, emerald green eyes, an impressive muscular frame and a large flower tattoo on her abdomen that wasn't even remotely hidden in the red two piece swimsuit she wore.

"Leilani?" Alex said. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me," she chuckled. "What? You don't recognize me? It's only been two years."

"But you've changed a lot since then," Alex marveled. "Your hair, that tattoo and those muscles! You didn't have _those_ the last time I saw you."

"And you have seen plenty of me," Leilani winked.

I loudly cleared my throat to remind them that I was still here. "Um, Alex, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Right, right," Alex stuttered as he tore his eyes away from Leilani. "Leilani, this is my girlfriend Semina. Semina, this is Leilani-"

"The ex-girlfriend," she finished before looking me over and smiling. "Wow Alex. She's really pretty. Not as pretty as me but still decent. You sure are a lucky guy. I wish you two nothing but the best."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or not," I huffed.

"Oh I mean no disrespect," Leilani said. "It's just that I'm pretty sure that there are much prettier girls than you in New York."

"_Excuse_ _me_?" I incredulously screeched. "I don't who the hell you think you're talking to-"

"Obviously I'm talking to you, little miss average looks," Leilani mumbled. "Jeez Alex when you broke up with me to go live in New York I thought you would have at least found a model type girl. Not some pupuka holoholona*."

"Okay that's enough," Alex sternly snapped. "Listen Leilani, you can have whatever opinion you want of my girlfriend but I think she's the most gorgeous girl on the planet and I wouldn't trade her for anyone in the world. I don't know why you're acting so bitchy but you have no right to talk to Mina like that so lay off the insults would ya?"

I'd never seen Alex so worked up about defending me and I'll admit I was a little surprised by it. (I'm so hot for you right now,) I telepathically told him, making his face turn as red as Leilani's swimsuit. (Just wait until we get back to the house.)

"Well fine then," the now very pissed off girl scoffed as she paddled away. While she paddled away I made a very small and harmless wave that crashed directly into her to knock her off of her board.

"Semina you just can't use your powers on humans like that!" Alex scolded before I silenced him with a deep kiss that knocked us off balance.

"Oh shut up and kiss me," I laughed as once again captured his lips for a longer more passionate kiss.

Following our wet and impromptu make out session, Alex and I caught a few more waves before heading back to the shore for some shave ice. I've had shave ice before but it has never come close to the one I was eating right now. We sat on the beach with Jean and Scott and ate our frozen treats while we watched the gorgeous sunset on the Hawaiian sky. We enjoyed each others company until we figured we had to go back to the Master's house. As we walked into the house after the drive home we found Andrew and Joanna on the couch watching a movie. Joanna looked up at us and smiled when she heard the door shut.

"Well look who's back after a long day at the beach," she said. "Did you kids have fun?"

"Yeah we did," Alex replied. His stomach growled loudly signaling that was around that time for dinner. "So when's dinner?"

"It's in the oven. It should be ready soon," Joanna replied.

The faint smell of smoke caught the attention of Jean's nose as she scrunched up her face. "Um...Mrs. Masters, I think dinner just caught on fire."

Rushing into the kitchen in a panic we saw the fire building in the door of the oven.

"Jean open the door so Semina can put the fire out," Scott directed.

Jean held a hand and and slowly opened the oven door with her telekinesis. Alex had turned on the faucet for me and I guided the stream on the water into the oven to extinguish the flames. Once the fire was gone the Masters looked at Jean and I in awe.

"What impressive powers," Andrew remarked.

"And so very useful," Joanna added.

Andrew looked at the now blackened oven and let out a loud sigh. "There goes dinner. At least we're all okay."

"Anyone for take out?" Joanna sheepishly giggled.

* * *

><p>For the next three days, Alex, Joanna and Andrew took Scott, Jean and I out to see the sites and get the full Hawaii experience. We went hiking on the beautiful <em>Waianae Mountain, rock climbing, jet skiing, kayaking and scuba diving. Each activity was more incredible than the last but I noticed that every time I got near the ocean I would feel very disturbed and apprehensive. <em>

Thursday Night

A peaceful night of sleep would have been nice after my long day of shopping with Jean and Joanna but at the moment I was frantically tossing and turning in my sleep. I'd only gotten two hours before I felt a wave of unease wash over me. There was that feeling of impending doom inside my stomach and my environmental link was going crazy. I could feel it's constant tug on my powers and knew it was trying to contact me somehow.

"Mina, baby, are you okay? Why do you keep tossing and turning?" Alex groggily asked. I always hated waking him up in the middle of the night with my sleeping issues.

"I-I don't know," I sighed. "I feel worried. The water is restless and calling out to me. There's something wrong but I can't tell what it is from all the way in here." I got out of the bed and began to pull on some sweats. "I'm going down to the shoreline to see what the problem is."

"Oh no you're not," Alex said. "I'm not letting you out of the house this late. It's dangerous out there. What if you get hurt?"

"Alex, I've been training my powers since I was twelve. I'll be fine," I reassured. Alex didn't buy that and gave me "the look". Whenever Alex wanted something he would slightly pout and make the saddest expression he could. He stole the technique from me and he knew I could never resist it. "Ugh, why did you have to give me that look? Fine, I'll stay. I'll check what's wrong tomorrow when we go to Sunset Beach." I just hoped that nothing major would happen between now and then.

The next day

When we arrived at Sunset Beach the first thing I noticed where the huge waves thrashing in the ocean. I wasn't causing any of them and seeing as how it's summer the waves shouldn't be as high as they were. Being the thrill seeker that he is, Alex charged blindly into the water before I even got the chance to assess the problem.

I growled as I saw paddle out into the ocean. Scott chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder. "My little brother can sometimes be a little thick in the head. Alex always was one for trying to catch the biggest wave but even he knows when it's time to get out of the water."

"He better. I don't plan on losing him any time soon," I joked as I walked over to the water. The feeling of unease I had last night reappeared as I stopped in front of the shoreline. I bent down to put a hand in the water and the moment I put it in, I gasped and retracted it like my hand was on fire.

"What is it?" Jean asked.

"ALEX GET OUT OF THE WATER!" I desperately screamed even though I knew he couldn't hear me over the sound of the waves.

"Semina, we need you to calm down and tell us what you sensed in the water," Scott calmly said.

"There's a huge wave heading our way," I panted. "Big enough to destroy at least all of North Shore."

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "How long until it gets here?"

"Half an hour," I replied.

"Can you stop it?" Jean asked.

I frowned. "Yes, but it's risky. I'll have to be in the water because I don't think I can stop it in time from here."

"But you've been able to stop tidal waves from far distances before," Scott pointed out. "How is this any different?"

"This wave is bigger than anything I've ever encountered," I responded. "And since it started out so far in the ocean, it can keep gathering water to make itself even bigger than it was by the time it hits shore."

"Semina even if you do stop it, you might use up all the strength you have," Jean warned. "Remember what happened the last time you used up all your energy?"

I nodded as I remembered my brief comatose state. "There's no other way we can come close to stopping it so it's the only choice we have."

"I don't like it," Scott said as he crossed his arms before sighing. "But you're right. There may be no other way. Semina, go try and stop that wave however you can. Alex, Jean and I will go and evacuate as many people as we can."

"Scott I'm staying here," Jean firmly stated. "In case Semina can't stop it in time, maybe I can put up a shield long enough for you and Alex to finish the evacuation."

"Jean I can't let you-" Scott began before Jean silenced him with a kiss.

"I'll be fine, I promise," Jean softly assured. "Now go, we don't have much time. We'll make sure Alex catches up to you in time."

"Alright," Scott nodded before he turned and left.

Jean looked at me and pulled me in for a hug. "You can do this, Mina. We have faith in you."

I hugged her back and said "Thank you Jean. That makes me almost believe I'm gonna come back safe and sound." I let go of her before taking a deep breath. "It's time for me to go." Jean simply nodded and as I walked toward the ocean I saw Alex walking out of the water and toward me. He saw my serious expression and sighed.

"How bad is it?" he asked as he set one end of his surfboard down into the sand.

"Tidal wave bad," I answered. "Big enough to wipe out all of North Shore. I'm going to stop it."

"What, by yourself?" Alex exclaimed.

"Yes," I answered. Before he could protest I put a finger to his lips. "Don't try to talk me out of it. It's my job as an X-Man to stop danger like this."

"But what if you don't come back?" Alex asked as he lightly pushed my bang out of my face. "I can't lose you."

"I'm coming back," I said as I hugged him. "Trust me, I'll come back."

Alex pressed his lips against mine with such a fire I thought that we were actually saying goodbye to each other. "Be careful. I love you."

"I love you too," I replied as I sadly separated myself from him and dove underneath the water. I made a water bullet around my body and propelled myself toward the tidal wave like a torpedo. I've always thrown myself into harms way so I wasn't that worried about myself but what I was really worried about was everyone else. What if I wasn't strong enough to stop the tidal wave? Because of my weakness I could cause the deaths of thousands of people.

"I'm not gonna let that happen," I told myself as I finally came close to the huge wave. Granted

it was fairly smaller than I thought but it was still going to take every I had to stop it. "All I have to do is make a counter wave to cancel out this one. And if that doesn't work...well I'm hoping this does work."

I shot myself into the air on a water pillar and concentrated on the water below me. Just gathering all the water alone was wearing me out. I collected as much water as I could hold and threw my hands in front of me to send my wave at the one approaching the island. Atop my water pillar I anxiously watched as the two waves approached each other.

"Come on, come on," I panted as the two waves finally came close to each other.

They smashed into each other so powerfully that it caused a giant spurt of water to form from the impact. I didn't have any time to even tell if the counter wave worked because the spurt forcefully rained down on me knocking me off my pillar and sending me into the ocean. The salty water rushed into my nose and mouth and I immediately swam up to the surface. I coughed wildly to try to expel the water from my lungs. As soon as my breathing became more stable I figured it would be a good time to swim back to the shore. The water still thrashing wildly and was difficult to maneuver myself in. Swimming had seemed like the best way to get back but with each stroke of my arm I felt myself getting weaker. If I tried to use any more of the little energy I had left I might as well make a tombstone because I wouldn't last any longer.

"I can't keep this up," I panted. Even the slightest movements, like trying to keep myself afloat, required a great deal of work and the current prevented me from gaining any distance to the shore and kept sweeping me further out into the ocean. I eventually stopped trying to save myself all together because each thing I did seemed futile. There was only one thing left to do and that was close my eyes and drift off into the darkness that was pulling at me.

A/N: Now wasn't that an exciting chapter? Now hit the little review button and tell me what you thought!

Asterisked: nani: beautiful or pretty

manapua- bread rolls usually stuffed with pork

kalua pork- roasted pulled pork

chicken long rice- noodles cooked in chicken broth, sometimes served over rice

nani wai akua wahine: beautiful water goddess

u'i, nohea he'e nalu ali'i: handsome surf king

ankle busters: surf slang for small waves

grommet/grom: inexperienced surfer

kook: someone who doesn't follow surf rules.

*pupuka holoholona: ugly beast


	11. The Plot Thickens

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Hmm I wonder what happened to my main character? Oh yeah, I KILLED her. Just kidding! Or did I? Anyway let's get back to the plot at hand and check up on our dear friend Mayor Kelly after we find out Mina's fate.

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

The Plot Thickens

Everything was cold and lifeless. I was floating in a sea of utter darkness and there wasn't a soul to be found around me. My first thought was that I had succeeded in trying to stop the wave but I wore myself out in the process.

"I never even got to say goodbye to my brother and sister, or to Aunt Viv, or to...Pietro," I whimpered as I hugged myself and rubbed my arms.

"Semina?" a voice almost inaudibly called out. "Semina can you hear me?"

"P-Pietro?" I asked as I looked around. "Is that you? How can I be talking to you if I'm dead?"

"You're such an idiot. Of course it's me," Pietro said. Yup that was him alright. "And you're not dead."

"Then where-" I began before a bright light shone from the distance in my direction. Pietro appeared next to me and smiled softly before hugging me.

"Stop asking so many questions and follow that light," he softly instructed as he took my hand in his and led me toward it.

The steady sound of a heart monitor was constantly beating as I slowly fluttered my eyes open. Bright lights above me obstructed my vision until I adjusted my eyes to them. I looked around and saw the professor smiling down at me to my left and Pietro with a relieved expression on his face to my right. I tried to speak but there was a tube down my throat and I couldn't seem to use my telepathy to ask what was going on either.

'Professor, what happened?' I loudly thought knowing he would be listening.

(Quite a lot has happened, Semina), Professor X replied. (You did manage to save North Shore from the tidal wave that threatened to destroy it but once again you pushed yourself to the limit. You lost a lot of energy and you can't use your powers in your weakened state. You couldn't make it to the shore after you stopped the wave and you sank to the bottom of the ocean where your powers defense mechanism kicked in and wrapped you in a water cocoon. It took hours to finally get out from the bottom of the ocean and it would have taken longer if Pietro hadn't found you. You should count yourself lucky to be alive right now.)

'How long have I been out?' I thought.

(You've been asleep for about two days,) he replied. (You're slowly regaining your energy back but Hank wants to keep you here in the med bay for a few more days just to make sure everything is fine.)

I closed my eyes and took a breath from my nasal cannula. 'How's Alex doing? I hope I didn't worry him that badly.'

(Alex is outside in the waiting room. He's been waiting to see you for days. He's a bit antsy since he wasn't allowed in for so long.) What the professor really wanted to say was that Alex was upset that Pietro could come be by my side and he couldn't.

I weakly smiled. 'Can you send him in? And have Hank take this suction catheter out?'

The professor nodded and went to get Alex while the catheter was removed from my mouth. I coughed the second it was taken out and Hank held my head as he helped me drink some water. I didn't know how thirsty I was until the cool liquid hit my lips. Hank went to one of his medical cabinets and pulled out a syringe full of clear liquid from one of the drawers.

Hank stuck the needle into the line of my I.V and pushed down on the plunger. "I'm administering your medication now. It's going to make you want to sleep but that's normal. I made it so that while you sleep the medicine will help speed up the recovery of your energy."

Once all the liquid was completely inserted into my I.V, Alex rushed into the room at a speed that could have rivaled Pietro's. Alex smiled as he took the seat next to mine. He took my limp hand in his gave it a kiss before caressing it."Nice you see you again."

"I'm out for two days and that's all you have to say?" I croaked with a teasing smile on my face.

Alex laughed when he saw that I was well enough to make jokes. "Next time I tell you to be careful, I want you to be careful. You could have been killed."

"But I wasn't. Besides you know I can be a loose cannon sometimes," I joked.

"I'm just glad you're still alive," Alex said. "I don't know what I would do without you in my life."

"Well there's no one else I'd rather want to be with," I said before I looked over at Pietro and saw him getting up to leave. "Uh uh uh, not so fast there quicky. Get over here."

"What do you want?" Pietro snapped.

I rolled my eyes at him before I turned my gaze on Alex. "Can I have a moment alone with Pietro? We need to have a little chat." I wanted to get a word in with him before I fell asleep because I started to feel the effects of my medication kicking in.

"Um, I'm not so sure...but okay," Alex reluctantly agreed. He bent down and placed a kiss on my cheek before exiting the med bay with Hank and the professor.

"So what is it?" Pietro asked as he sat back down and crossed his arms. When he saw me struggling to sit up in the bed he jumped to his feet and gently pushed me back down. "What do you think you're doing? You can't try to move right now."

I shrugged off his warning and sat myself up again. Who knew that such an easy action was so tiring? I looked at Pietro and took in his appearance. His cerulean eyes looked tired, his features were lined with worry and his lips were turned down in a tiny pout. Once I was finally in an upright seating position I spoke. "You saved me. Why?"

"Well yeah I saved you," Pietro sheepishly said as he ran a hand through his snow white hair. "What did you expect me to do? I wasn't going to leave you to die."

"Didn't you think Alex could have saved me?" I asked.

Pietro laughed quietly. "He doesn't know how to protect you like I can. You _need_ me around to save you."

I motioned for him to come closer and I hugged him. For the first time in years, I felt a little jolt of electricity when I touched his skin. Suddenly I smelled the scent of his old cologne on him and smile as I nestled my head in his neck. For whatever reason, I then began placing a trail of kisses along his collarbone and up to his neck.

"Semina, w-what are you doing?" Pietro nervously asked as he bit back a groan. He couldn't say he didn't like this but her boyfriend could burst into the room at any moment. "Alex could-" Pietro couldn't even get the sentence out before he felt Semina's soft lips press themselves against his.

Slightly taken aback, he stood there for a moment completely rigid before he melted into the kiss. Her lips parted and their tongues fought for dominance in each others mouth before Semina ended the kiss just as abruptly as she started it. A simple word of thanks was all she said before her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep.

"What the hell just happened?" Pietro questioned to himself. He was confused, happy, nervous and aroused all at the same time. What if Alex found out? Pietro, realizing what he had just thought, laughed and said "Let him" before smirking and walking out of the med bay.

Later that night

_The cold water started to drag me down into its briny depths but a hand grabbed me and pulled me out of the water before I could sink any further. I gasped as I finally got some oxygen flowing through my lungs again. Through blurry eyes I tried to unveil the identity of my savior. _

"_Alex?" the figure shook their head. "Pietro?" Once more the figure shook his head._

"_Don't worry," the figure whispered as he finally came into focus. The salt and pepper hair, the cold black eyes, the soulless voice. "I'm here to save you."_

_The scenery around us changed and we were in a large windowless room. There was no water in the air and I couldn't sense anything with my telepathy._

"_What do you want with me?" I yelled._

"_We all want the same thing," Bolivar Trask answered._

"_We?" I questioned. And with that I was then surrounded by Magneto, Sierra, Mayor Kelly, Sabertooth and three Sentinels. "What do you want from me?"_

"_Your destruction," they replied in unison before they each charged up an attack of their own._

_I noticed Pietro standing in the corner and pleaded with him with me eyes "Aren't you going to save me?" _

_Pietro scoffed at me before walking out of the room leaving my enemies to fire their attacks at me. _

I woke up with a scream, drenched in a cold sweat and tears springing from my eyes. I don't know what was worse: being attacked by everyone who hates me or that Pietro didn't lift a finger to help me. The door flew open and in rushed Pietro dressed only in his boxers. Once he saw that I was unharmed he groaned in irritation.

"You're fine," he plainly said.

I nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you were hurt," Pietro admitted as he walked over to my bed and hovered over me.

"How did you hear me scream all the way from here?" I asked.

"Semina, you have a big mouth," Pietro chuckled. "It wasn't that loud of a scream compared to your others but I still heard it. I mean from my experience with you, you _are_ a screamer."

He winked at me and I felt my face flush with heat. "Shut up. I'm fine now so you can go."

Pietro, clearly ignoring my request, sat down next to me on the bed instead. Since he didn't have a shirt on his skin rubbed against mine and I felt goosebumps cover me from head to toe. I made the mistake of looking him down from his chest to his boxers and my heart beat increased. If he was going to be next to me, he could at least have the decency to put on a shirt and some shorts.

"This is the opposite of you going," I said as I heard the beeping of my heart monitor speed up.

Pietro took notice and asked "What's going on with your monitor?" He looked at my flustered apperance and placed a hand on my forehead. "You're really warm. Is everything okay?"

Pietro had leaned a bit forward to place his hand on my forehead and that caused the bulge in his pants to brush against my leg which was barely covered by my think blanket. "Everything is fine! I'm just wondering why you're still here."

"Because I can be," he replied. I narrowed my eyes at him and he rolled his eyes. "And because you had a nightmare."

"How did you know that?" I asked as I tore my eyes away from his abs. I took a deep breath and heard my heart rate slow down and return to normal.

Pietro pointed to his head. "The link is back up. You're still not 100% but you're getting there."

"Aww you came to check up on me," I sweetly teased as I pinched his cheek.

He quickly swatted my hand away. "If I don't stay here with you no one is going to be getting much sleep with your incessant screams."

"It was ONE scream okay," I chuckled as I playfully hit him in the arm.

"It was an annoying scream," Pietro retorted. "I'm doing everyone a favor by staying down here."

"And since when do you do anyone favors?" I skeptically questioned.

"When it involves staying in the presence of you, I'd do a favor for anyone," Pietro flirtatiously smirked.

I turned my nose up and said "I'm not impressed. And Alex wouldn't be either. Aren't you the least bit worried that he might come down here and kick your ass?"

"Nah. It'd be worth it because I would have the chance to spend a little more time with you," he winked. When he saw I wasn't taking the bait he said "Oh come on, you know you can't resist me."

"It'd be easier if you had a damn shirt on," I mumbled under my breath.

Pietro leaned down to my ear and I felt his breath tickle my skin. "I heard that. Is that why your heart monitor went crazy a little while ago? Why don't you and I make that happen again?"

He lightly nipped at my ear and that little action drove me over the edge. I cupped his face with my hands and brought his ear up to my lips. "I don't know what kind of shit you're trying to pull but you need to stop it. I have a boyfriend who I love very much and I don't need you tempting me." I pushed him away from me and he looked at me in astonishment.

"That didn't seem to stop you earlier," Pietro said with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

My face twisted into confusion. "What do you mean? What happened earlier?"

"You really don't remember what you did, do you?" he asked.

"Remember what?" I snapped. "What did I do?"

A loud vibration filled the room as I looked on my nightstand to see an incoming call on my cell phone from a restricted number.

"What is it?" I asked as I immediately answered the call.

"I have some information for you," the voice on the other line said. "About Mayor Kelly and Bolivar Trask."

"Go ahead," I responded as I immediately perked up.

"I don't have much time so listen carefully. I've been doing to digging through the MRD database and found a restricted section I couldn't open," the person began. "It's taken me weeks to finally get it open but now that I have I know what Mayor Kelly is up to. As you may or may not already know Mayor Kelly has been working with Bolivar Trask to update the MRD weaponry. He introduced the new guns to the public to make them believe that those were the upgrades to their defenses but there's something more. Kelly is in the works of starting something called "Project: Wideawake", a program in which he intends to use Sentinels to hunt and capture mutants that aren't registered."

My face drained of all color as I looked at Pietro with a fearful expression. Unregistered mutants meant both the X-Men and the Brotherhood. Not to mention most of the other mutants we knew who weren't on either team. "So that Sentinel was sent after us by Kelly? Where did he get the money to pay Trask for this?" I asked.

"Turns out he's being funded by a man named Henry Peter Gyrich," the person told me. "He's an extremely wealthy mutant activist and an old friend of Kelly's. Those two have hated mutants since their sandbox days. Gyrich was also the one paid for the MRD facilities to be opened."

"Gyrich? That's the man who released Trask from the S.H.I.E.L.D prison," I growled through clenched teeth. "So the three of them have joined up to start the Sentinel program again?"

"And that's not even the half of it," the person continued. "As of three and a half weeks ago Kelly and Trask began the production of a _new_ batch of Sentinels called Sentinel Prowlers...and they're set to launch tonight."

"Where from?" I asked.

The person on the other line sighed. "I don't know. There's no location anywhere in the files. You have until tonight to stop the launch or those Sentinels are going to go after hundreds of innocent mutants in the city."

I looked at the clock that read five A.M. "We're going to stop this. I'll go inform the X-Men but in the meantime do me a favor and try to get me a copy of those files."

"Already done," the voice agreed. "I've link the files through the most secure parts of my system and it should be waiting for you in the computer at the institute."

"I can't thank you enough for doing this," I thanked. "Thank you."

"You better be thankful for all I'm risking just by helping you. Just be sure to stop these men," the person huffed before hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Pietro inquired. "Who was that?"

"Who that was is none of your business," I replied as I began to pull out my I.V and all the wires plugged into my heart monitor.

"Stop it! What are doing?" he asked in alarm.

"What does it look like?" I asked as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. "I'm getting out this med bay. I, er, _we_ have things to take care of."

"You're not back to your full strength yet," Pietro pointed out as he saw me struggle to stand up. "Look you can barely stand by yourself. What makes you think you're in any shape to do anything?"

"My job as an X-Man," I answered as I began to contact the entire team so they could meet me in the planning room. "Now come with me, we have things to discuss with the teams."

Pietro made no move to follow me.

"Don't just stand there gaping at me, come on!" I urged.

Pietro continued to eye me and when I looked down I realized that the back of my hospital had opened up to reveal my black panties. I blushed before turning around. "Oh grow up. Now can you please zip up to my room grab me some clothes?"

Pietro chuckled. "Whatever you say bubble butt." He chuckled once more before zooming away and returning in ten seconds flat. "Here you go."

"Thank you," I said before I motioned for him to turn around so I could I take off my hospital gown and put on my clothes.

"I've seen you half naked plenty of times," Pietro dismissed as he rolled his eyes. I growled at him and he finally complied. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to peek."

"Peek and you die," I said in a sing-song voice. After I pulled on my clothes I told him he could turn back around. "Okay, now everyone should be in the planning room by now so let's go."

Pietro scooped me into his arms and we raced into the planning room to find it full of half asleep mutants.

"Semina, what's the meaning of this?" Professor X asked.

"Yeah, why are we up so early?" LaToya groaned. "Today was our day off from training in the morning."

"Well you guys are about to put that training to the test," I replied as I walked over to the computer. My informant had sent me the files I required and I opened them up. I retold them Kelly's plan and watched everyone instantly wake up to pay close attention to my information.

"But where did you get all this information from?" Hank asked.

"That doesn't matter," I vaguely answered. "Look the point is, we have until tonight to find where these Sentinel Prowlers are being launched from and stop them before it's too late."

"We wouldn't begin to know where to look," Anthony exclaimed. "It's not like someone is gonna lead us there."

Suddenly a red light flashed and the alarm blared loudly. I banged a fist on the table. "Damn it! We don't have time for this."

"What's going on?" Kitty asked.

I checked the alarm status on the computer and there looked to be a disturbance at the MRD headquarters again. And you can already guess who was the cause of it.

"Looks like Magneto went to pay another visit to the MRD headquarters," I growled. "And he brought his friends along with him."

"M-Magneto? And his Acolytes?" Pietro stammered with an undeniable fear in his voice. "But why?"

An idea popped into my head. 'Maybe this is a good thing.'

"Okay teams, let's go," Scott announced.

At the MRD Headquarters

After we traced Magneto to the heart of the MRD headquarters, we found him and his Acolytes fighting off the agents of the facility. Immediately the X-Men went on the defensive to protect the MRD agents while I slipped away in search of the master of magnetism. It was going to be hard without my telepathy because of that stupid helmet of his but I already had a good idea of where he was. I found him in the main computer room trying to hack the system.

"The file you're looking for is encrypted," I told him.

Magneto turned around and through his helmet smiled grimly. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from you, Ms. Wilson?"

"I have no time for your formalities," I quipped. "I'm here to propose a deal."

"I'm listening," Magneto said as he walked up to me.

An MRD agent ran into the room and without even casting him a glance I knocked him out with a weak psionic blast. I had no time to deal with any distractions. I wanted what I was going to do be quick and simple. "I have the information on that computer that you need. In return, and even though this makes me sick to my stomach, I require a temporary alliance with you and your Acolytes to locate Trask's facility. No double crossing, no tricks, just a simple alliance to thwart his plans."

"And what do I get out of this?" Magneto questioned.

"You get to keep your life," I hissed. "Once I tell you what Mayor Kelly is up to, you won't need anything in return."

Magneto scoffed as he levitated and started for the door.

"You know Magneto, I'm a very resourceful woman," I called to his back. "I mean who do you think arranged for Wanda to be broken out of that asylum?"

He stopped in his tracks and floated back toward me with a rage in his eyes. "That was you?"

"You're not dealing with your average X-Man here, Magneto," I declared as I took a challenging step forward and got into his face. "I'm willing to play dirty. So...do we have a deal?"

Magneto's face twisted up in frustration as he weighed his options while looking at my outstretched hand. With a grunt he hesitantly took my hand and shook it.

"Good choice," I smiled. "Now, go be a good little teammate and call your Acolytes off. Then follow us back to the mansion so you can get your information."

Magneto narrowed his eyes at me before floating out of the room to follow my instructions. As I followed him out of the room I couldn't help but feel a joyful adrenaline rush pumping through my veins.

'Ha ha, I just made Magneto my bitch,' I triumphantly thought.

We finally arrived back where our teams where still fighting. While Magneto signaled for his men to stop, I held the communicator up to my wrist and issued a retreat. Despite the protest of Cyclops, the team complied and retreated back to the jet. The retreat had caused some confusion amongst the mutants as well as some anger, mostly from my leader.

"You mind telling me why you ordered a retreat in the middle of the battle?" Cyclops angrily demanded.

"I have a good reason," I answered simply.

"Yes, please enlighten us as to what that reason is," Cyclops agitatedly said.

The X-Jet finally landed and without a word, I unbuckled my seat belt and made a motion for Cyclops to follow me. Once we, along with everyone else, were out of the jet I pointed toward the metal orbs making their descent and said "There's my reason."

"What? What is Magneto doing here?" Cyclops asked as he reached for his visor. The rest of the X-Men followed his example and took defensive stances.

"Stand down," I called to them.

"You don't have the authority to-" Cyclops began before I cut him off.

"I know but no one is going to be attacking them," I explained. "Because I invited them here."

A/N: Well that was an interesting chapter. Be sure to leave me a review of what you thought!


	12. Cataclysm

Disclaimer: I wish I owned X-Men: Evolution but sadly I do not.

A/N: Let's see how the team faces off against the Sentinel Prowlers with the help of Magneto and his Acolytes. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Cataclysm

"You did what?" Logan demanded, never taking his eyes off Sabertooth. "Sprinkler, have you gone off the deep end?"

"Yeah, these are our enemies," Bobby pointed out.

"That may be true but they're here to help us," I said. "Magneto has agreed to help us stop Trask and Kelly. No strings attached." I saw they weren't convinced. "Please, you guys just need to trust me on this. I know what I'm doing." The team looked at me skeptically but kept their mouths shut apart from a few mutters.

"I agree that your actions are a little abstruse but I trust your judgment," Professor X said. "So for the sake of this mission I'm temporarily putting you in charge."

"Really?" I happily asked as Scott exclaimed the same thing in disbelief.

"I'm trusting that you don't disappoint me," the professor smiled. "Now I suggest we get inside and start working. Each minute we waste brings Kelly closer to his goal." The disgruntled team of mutants slumped inside with the professor.

"I trust you remember where our main computer room is," I said as I turned to Magneto. "We'll start our work there."

Magneto grunted before signaling his Acolytes to follow him.

As I followed behind them, I was grabbed and whisked over to the gazebo by the speedster himself. He looked at me with angry eyes. "Are you crazy bringing him here?"

"No I'm not crazy," I retorted. "I'm trying to stop a possible genocide. I hate him more than anyone else in the mansion but the fact of the matter is we need his help or we may not stand a chance against those Sentinel Prowlers."

"You do realize what you're risking then right?" Pietro asked. "He could be trying to steal all the information about you and your team as we speak."

"Like you haven't already given him what he needed to know," I countered as I leaned against one of the support beams of the gazebo.

Pietro irritatedly groaned. "I thought we were past that."

"Well there are some things you just can't get past," I replied. "It's not like I'm _betraying_ my team or anything." The words came out of my mouth faster than I could stop them. I didn't mean to pick a fight with Pietro at a time like this but there's still a part of me that's upset at him.

"Do we really need to start this now?" Pietro snapped. "Because I really don't think this is the time for it."

"No, you're right. I-I'm sorry," I groveled as I clutched onto the beam. "I don't know why I said that. Still a little drained I guess. Maybe I'm not thinking straight."

"Come to think of it, you do look a little pale," he pointed out as his annoyance with me slowly dissipated. "Maybe you should lay down."

"I can't," I frowned before standing up straight. "I have a job to do."

In the computer room

After I told Magneto what I knew, I assembled the team back into the planning room for further instruction.

"Okay we have less than eight hours to stop the launch of these Sentinel Prowlers," I began. "First thing's first. Lance and Pietro, I want you to do a search for Henry Peter Gyrich through the S.H.I.E.L.D database. Any information about him will be helpful at this time. Hank and Forge, I want you two to look into the files I acquired earlier and tell me the extent of the new Sentinel's power. Remy, Laura and Kitty, you guys have a big job. I need the three of you to go to Mayor Kelly's house. Something tells me there's some files he's hiding there. Logan, Scott, Ororo and Rogue, take the XM-Velocity and go back to Trask's old base in upstate New York. Maybe he left some clues as to where he was going next. Kurt and Jean, I want you to check out city hall for any files Kelly has there that has to deal with Trask. The professor, Magneto and I will start the search for Trask's current facility. I want everyone in radio contact. I want to hear your findings the moment you find them."

"What do you want the rest of us to do?" Amara asked.

"For now, I want you all to prepare," I replied. "We have a big battle ahead of us and I need you all to be ready for it."

Once everyone dispersed to do what I told them to do, I released a shaky breath. I wasn't back up to full strength yet and with the stress I'm putting myself under I was feeling a little weary. I steadied myself on the table and looked at Magneto and the professor who seemed to notice my tired state before I brushed off whatever fatigue I was feeling and headed back to the computer.

"Okay we need to start narrowing down where the facility could be," I said as I waved them over. "Any ideas on where we should start looking?"

"It would have to be in a remote location," Magneto offered. "Somewhere away from prying human eyes."

"But he sent a Sentinel after us in broad daylight," I argued. "If he was looking for subtlety he's far past that. "

"Semina," Lance called from across the room to get my attention. "We didn't find much but we did manage to get Gyrich's address. He lives in a mansion in Pennsylvania. Could he be launching the attack from his house?"

"It's not likely," Professor X replied. "If Gyrich has managed to keep a low profile for so long, I doubt he would risk a full scale attack on mutants from his own home."

"Does that mean that they're going to be launched somewhere in New York?" Pietro asked.

"Yes but I wouldn't begin to know where," I groaned as I turned to face Hank and Forge. "Have you found the extent of the Sentinel's power yet?"

"We're almost there," Forge replied. "But from what we've gathered so far it looks like these Sentinel Prowlers are unable to fly but make up for it with more weaponry. Lasers, paralysis goo, you name it, this thing has it! Of course these are the first batch and may have some kinks to work out but judging from these schematics, they're pretty deadly."

"Thank you Forge," I said as I rubbed my throbbing temples. "Now let's see if I can get some good news." I turned on my communicator and contacted Logan. "Any luck finding any clues there?"

"Nope, the place is clean," he replied. "Trask must've got someone to cover his tracks after he was taken into custody. We hit a dead end over here."

I sighed heavily. "Okay since there isn't much else to do, get back to the mansion." I turned to Magneto. "Could really use your help here."

Magneto thought for a second called in Sabertooth. He whispered something to him before Sabertooth ran out of the door.

"Whoa well that's interesting," Forge exclaimed. "It looks like just activating the Prowlers would take a massive amount of power."

"Semina, do a search of New York's power grid within a fifty mile radius of Bayville and try to find the largest source of power intake," Hank commanded.

I brought the state's power grid up on the screen. The amount of power being used was represented by yellow blips on the grid. The places with the most power intake was the mansion, the MRD facility, Magneto's base and the mutant hunter base but there was a place that had more power intake than all of those places combined. It was in a place I couldn't recognize outside of Bayville but it had the largest accumulation of blips on the screen so that had to be the place.

Just then Sabertooth burst into the door with a woman who struggling in his grasp and shouting obscenities like no tomorrow. Kurt and Jean walked in behind them with a very frustrated look on their faces. My eyes widened in shock. "What did you do? Who is this?"

Sabertooth set her down in a chair and put his giant paws on her shoulders to keep her from moving. Jean answered the question I asked. "This Slyvia West, Mayor Kelly's personal assistant. W e were in the middle of an interrogation when Sabertooth came in and just took her."

"Magnus, what is the meaning of this?" Professor X demanded.

"Who better to know about the launch than Kelly's most trusted assistant," Magneto replied. "I believe anything we need to know lies inside her mind."

"You didn't have to have Sabertooth kidnap her!" I shouted. "Jean could have gotten what we needed to know without dragging her here!" I placed my head in my hands and murmured that this was the last time I team up with these people before addressing Jean. "Did you get anything out of her?"

"I found some access codes and memories of her going into the facility," Jean replied. "I have the entrances, exits, the place of security cameras but no location. She never saw where she was going because Mayor Kelly had her ride in a car with dark tinted windows. Did you find the facility yet?"

"Well yes and no," I responded. "We have the general location but we don't have the exact location."

"I guess zhe access codes aren't going to do us much good since ve don't have a location," Kurt dejectedly said.

"We're right back to square one then," I groaned. I looked at the time and hit the keyboard of the computer. "We're running out of time!" I looked at the woman who was still under Sabertooth's grasp and walked over to her. I wiped her mind, knocked her out and demanded that Sabertooth take her back to city hall. My communicator started beeping and I quickly answered it.

"Semina, it's Shadowcat," Kitty began. "We have something you might want to hear. We found a copy of a receipt for the purchase of a place called RNC Motors. It's in Gyrich's name and it's dated for two months ago."

"RNC Motors?" I questioned before punching it into the computer. "It's an old abandoned car manufacturing factory...and it's located about two hours from here." I matched the location to the region with the most power intake and let out a whoop. "That's it! This has got to be where the launch is going to happen!"

I radioed everyone else who was out to hightail it back here and telepathically told everyone in the house that we found the facility. Although he was on his way back to the mansion I wanted Logan at the facility instead so I contacted him and gave him special instructions.

"Logan, we found the facility," I spoke into the communicator. "I'm sending you the coordinates now. I want you to take the XM-Velocity, put it in stealth mode and land two blocks away. Don't even think of going in by yourself. Wait for us. We'll be there soon."

After we broke off the communication Professor X asked. "How much time do we have left?"

"We're gonna cut it close but we have about have six hours left, maybe less," I replied as I pushed myself away from the computer. "I want everyone in the hanger, suited up and ready to go within half an hour."

On the jet

I was a nervous wreck at the moment. What if I was leading them into a trap? What if Trask knew we were coming? What if we can't stop the launch in time?

"Uh, Mina, you're gonna make a hole in the jet if you keep tapping your foot like that," Alex jested as he pointed to my rapidly bobbing leg.

"I can't help it," I said. "So much can go wrong on this mission. It'll all be my fault."

"I'm sure nothing is going to go wrong," Alex reassured.

"But what if it _does_ go wrong?" I asked.

Alex thought this over for a second. "Then I'll be there to help bail you out of trouble. Not to mention the rest of the team has each others back. We're gonna stop him."

I simply nodded. There wasn't much else I could say at this point. I just hoped that everything went okay.

"We are landing," Storm announced to everyone on the jet. "Stealth mode has been engaged. Proceed carefully and quietly when we get off the jet."

'Here we go,' I uneasily thought. 'Time to see if I can actually lead a mission without getting anyone killed.'

(Oh my God, will you pull yourself together?) Pietro barked at me. (You are one of the toughest girls I've ever met! Stop acting like this is your first big mission and let's get in there and kick some ass!)

I looked over at Pietro who had a very irritated look on his face. He was annoyed with my constant worrying but I also saw how he was holding back his classic smirk. I flashed him a smile and mouthed the words "Thank you" and he gave me a nod in return. After exiting the jet, the first thing we did was find our estranged teammates who were patiently waiting for us exactly where I told them to land. Seeing all of the mutants, I activated my leader mode and instructed that Jean go first since she was the one who knew where to enter, where the security cameras were and what the access codes were. Once we carefully entered the building undetected, Jean lead us to the room where the Prowlers were being processed. Unfortunately the minute we entered the room, despite how quiet and covert we were being, the mutant detection alert was triggered and guards immediately swarmed us.

"Cyclops, Jean, Havok, X-23, Polaris, Wolverine, Magneto, Rogue, Colossus, Sabertooth, Gambit and Beast come with me," I quickly instructed as the guards charged at us. "Everyone else take care of these guards and cover us. We're going after the Prowlers."

Fighting off whatever guard came our way, we bulldozed our way to the Prowlers and the closer we got the more shocked we were. The Sentinel Prowlers were large scorpion like machines, each about as tall as Colossus and as big as the X-Van, that were arranged in six neat rows of five. As far as we could see in means of weaponry, it's tail had a large laser cannon attached to it and everything else was neatly ticked into it's hard shell. Even in it's dormant state, it scared the living crap out of me.

"Polaris," I said as she nodded. She flew into the air and stretched her arms. As she curled her hands into balls, her magnetic powers began crushing the Prowlers.

'Those powers. They're the same as mine. But how is that-' Magneto thought with narrowed eyes before the answer hit him forcing his eyes to double in size. 'After all this time...could it really be her?'

Just as she finished destroying the first row of Prowlers, the eyes of the rest of the scorpion like Sentinels glowed a bright red. They sprang to life and a computerized voice said _"Sentinel Prowlers: online. Initial programming: activating."_

"No, t-that's impossible!" I shouted as I looked at my watch. "We still had time! Who could have-?" I looked around the facility and there on top of the catwalk stood Bolivar Trask. I growled and slit my eyes at him in hate.

"_Beginning launch." _The Sentinel Prowlers completely ignored our presence and marched away from us.

I looked back up at the balcony and saw that Trask had already left. As much as I wanted to settle my personal vendetta I had to think of the team first. "Stop those Prowlers!" I commanded.

Wolverine and X-23 each pounced on a Prowler and landed on their backs. With their claws extended they stabbed at the metallic shell of the Prowlers before the Sentinels retaliated by popping out some of their cannons and firing at the two mutants. Just as they were hit, the two Prowlers shorted out and collapsed to the ground. Sabertooth picked up one of the Prowlers by the tail and swung it around before releasing it. It hit a wall and exploded on impact. Gambit charged up some of his cards and threw them at the feet of the Prowlers. The resulting explosions blew up half of one of the Prowlers rendering it useless. Rogue who had absorbed Blob earlier charged for a Prowler and punched it across the room. Cyclops cranked the dial all the way up on his visor while Havok charged up his hands and they each blasted a hole clean through a Prowler. Before we had the chance to destroy any more Prowlers they had crawled through a set of metal doors and disappeared.

"Where are they going?" Havok asked.

"Beast and I will go and find out," I said. "The rest of you follow them. Try to keep destroying as many Prowlers as you can. We can't let them reach wherever their destination is." They nodded and pursued the mutant hunting machines as Beast and I made our way to the nearest computer.

"Can you try and find their initial programming?" I asked.

"I can try," Beast replied as he rapidly typed away on the keyboard. Hacking into the computer had triggered the automatic self destruct sequence of the facility which was set for five minutes until detonation. I immediately radioed the team and said "This place is gonna blow in five minutes. Get out of this place and on the jets NOW!"

"Come on Beast, you're cutting it close here," I nervously said as the countdown fell to four minutes.

Beast was still trying to find the correct information as the the self destruct countdown fell to three minutes. He let out a gasp once he found it. "Here it is. They're programmed to find all the mutants in the city and they're going to be released from...underneath the MRD headquarters."

I pointed to the metal doors where the Prowlers disappeared earlier. "So that door is a tunnel to the MRD headquarters?" Beast said yes and started to go into detail but I cut him off as I heard the countdown fall to two minutes. "Good enough for me, let's get going." I radioed the team once more and told them they needed to get to the MRD headquarters as fast as they could. After receiving word from both jets, Beast and I started to get out of this facility as quickly as we could.

"_Self destruct in one minute." _

We had ran as fast we could over to the door and Beast pried it open with both his hands and feet.

"_Self destruct in forty seconds."_

"How big is that explosion going to be?" I panted as we ran down the incline into the tunnel. "Can we get caught in it?"

"_Self destruct in twenty seconds."_

"Run faster and we won't have to find out," Beast replied.

"_Self destruct in ten...nine...eight..."_

I started panting heavier and Beast instructed me to climb on his back.

"_Self destruct in seven...six...five...four..."_

The rest of the team wasn't too far away from us now.

"_Self destruct in three...two...one..."_

We had finally caught up to the everyone else in the tunnel and I screamed "JEAN! WE NEED A SHIELD NOW!"

The facility exploded above our heads with a large 'BOOM!'. The entire tunnel shook from the blast and flames began to shoot into the tunnel from the explosion. Jean quickly threw a shield up to contain the flames. The force was great and despite her straining she managed to keep it up long enough for Magneto and Polaris to use the metal in the tunnel to seal the flames out.

"That was...too close..." I panted as I dropped to my knees after getting off Beast's back. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Cyclops replied. "What was that explosion?"

"Trask is a sore loser who installed a self destruct mechanism that triggered the second we hacked into the computer," I replied. "Everything up there is _gone_. His work, evidence, all of it! But we did manage to find out where this tunnel goes. We're headed for underneath the MRD headquarters. They're planning on releasing the Sentinel Prowlers on all the mutants in Bayville."

"Then we better get there before that can happen," Jean said.

After running down the hallway for what seemed like an eternity, we finally came upon a door that lead us into what seemed like a prison. Dozens of cages were set up each containing a different mutant that was trapped in the same kind of force fields we saw back at the mutant hunting base.

"So this is what the MRD has been hiding from the public," I whispered in disbelief. "They're caging registered mutants like animals."

"That isn't our main concern right now," Magneto voiced. "Our goal is to stop the Prowlers."

"But we cannot leave them here," Colossus said, speaking up for the first since he got here. "Go destroy those Prowlers if you must but I will stay here and do what's right."

"Then do not bother coming back with me," Magneto hissed. "Come Gambit."

Gambit looked at Rogue who pleaded for him to stay with her shining emerald eyes. "Sorry boss man but I'm staying with my cherie."

Magneto looked like he was ready to explode that is until an actual explosion sounded upstairs. As he floated away Sabertooth followed behind him but briefly looked back to snarl at his now former teammates.

"Cyclops, Jean, Polaris, X-23, Wolverine and Beast go up there and help the team out," I said. "We'll stay behind and set these mutant free then come meet you up there shortly."

They nodded and followed after Magneto while the rest of us began destroying the generators surrounding the cages. Each mutant thanked us for freeing them from captivity and rushed upstairs toward their freedom. Gambit approached the last cage which happened to contain a disheveled looking blonde woman sitting her head between her knees. Hearing the small explosion caused by Gambit destroying the generator, she snapped her head up and looked at him with rage. After he opened the cage door, the woman quickly stood up and rushed to him grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him into the air with her super strength.

"No more injections," she growled.

"You got it all wrong," Gambit squeaked. "I-I'm here t-to help you." 

"Liar!" the woman braked.

A feminine shout made Rogue veer in the direction of them just in time to see Gambit beginning to struggle in the woman's grip. "Remy! Rogue cried out as she rushed to his side to try to make the woman release her grip on him. The woman simply sent Rogue flying into one of the cages with a flick of her hand. Rogue shakily stood up and took off her gloves. If she wouldn't let go, Rogue was going to make her let go. Rogue once again ran toward the woman and gripped her exposed forearm. The woman's grip on Remy's neck didn't loosen up making Rogue put her other hand on the woman's cheek.

"Aww my cherie came to save me," Gambit barely chocked out. "You must really love me." Even in times like this he still retained that silver tongue of his.

"Can it, Swamp Rat," Rogue said through clenched teeth.

After I freed my last mutants I looked back and saw what was taking place. My eyes widened. "Rogue! You have to stop! You'll kill her!"

"I-I can't," she replied in a strained voice. "She won't let go of Remy." Rogue continued to absorb the woman and before long she felt her powers, memories and personality flowing into her. The longer Rogue held contact the more of the woman's powers she obtained. The woman eventually let go of Gambit who dropped to the floor gasping for air before she collapsed herself. Rogue had let go but she knew she had almost drained that woman to the point of death.

I scrambled over to them and knelt down beside Remy and the woman. I took the woman's pulse to check if she was still alive. Luckily she was, but just barely. Rogue had drained a lot out of her. I looked over at the Cajun thief in concern. "Remy, are you okay?"

"Fine, petite femme," he coughed. He crawled over to Rogue who knelt on the floor starting at her exposed hands. "Cherie? You alright there?" She continued to look at her hands. "Rogue?"

She finally looked up. "R-Rogue? Isn't my name Carol?"

"Oh no," I paled. "This is bad. Very, very bad."

"What?" Remy asked in alarm. "Why is she acting like this?"

"Rogue held contact for too long," I told him. "Whoever this woman is, her mind, her powers, even her personality have all transferred into Rogue. She can't tell who is she because in her mind she believes she's Rogue and this Carol woman."

"Is there anyway to get the real Rogue back?" Remy asked.

"Yes but it's going to take a lot of telepaths to do it," I answered. "The moment the battle is over we'll take her to the professor but we need to focus on the matter at hand. There are probably still Prowlers up there and we need to stop them. But in the meantime I need to knock her out. We don't know if 'Carol' is dangerous or not yet so we can't take any chances." I placed a hand on Rogue's head and telepathically knocked her out.

Remy reluctantly nodded before picking up her unconscious body. I waved Colossus over and had him pick up Carol. When we arrived upstairs where the battle was still taking place, I instructed them to put the two unconscious females on the jet. I looked around to see about eight Prowlers left and decided it was time for me to finally destroy some Sentinel's. I drew water from the air and surrounded one of the Prowlers in six vertical water rings. I squeezed the rings around the Prowlers to slice it into seven equal parts. A Prowler came up behind me and fired a laser at my back. It singed a hole through my outfit and hit my scars. I quickly retaliated by sending sharp ice projectiles at it's cannon. The cannon on it's tail blew up and the Prowler countered by shooting paralysis goo at me. Jumping out of the way of the blast I thought I had just narrowly dodged it but the goo managed to catch my feet. Immobilized by the goo I lay on the floor trying to free my feet to no success. The Prowler popped out an assortment of cannons from its sides. I had a feeling that Quicksilver would try to come rescue me again but I was so tired of that damsel in distress routine that this time I rescued myself. Before the Prowler could fire a single shot at me, I called upon a reserve of strength I never knew I had and forced a giant ice pick through it's head at the very last second. Just as I assumed earlier, Quicksilver was already next to me ready to save me.

"It's already taken care of," I smugly smirked as I looked up at him. The chest of his battle suit was charred off and from where I was standing I saw some glass shards in his back. "What happened to you?"

"Hit with a laser, flew through glass," he simply replied as he offered me a hand up. He looked at my back and cringed. "You?"

"Hit with a laser, no big deal," I shrugged as I struggled to balance myself with my feet being encased in paralysis goo. "How many Prowlers left?"

Quicksilver scanned the room and spotted Boom Boom taking on the last one. "One." Boom Boom made a huge explosive and threw it at the Prowler. "And that makes zero."

"It's over," I breathlessly said in relief. Looking across the room I saw scattered Prowler parts, fissures that had been opened up by Avalanche, scorch marks on the walls, injured teammates and even unconscious MRD agents. I quickly called over Shadowcat and pointed to my feet. She phased me out the goo and went to Avalanches side. "Okay everyone, let's get back to the mansion before anymore MRD agents show up."

Back at the mansion

Magneto left with his Acolytes the moment the battle had ended. I guess he saw no point in staying seeing as how our short lived alliance had ended. As soon as we got to the mansion all of the resident telepaths rushed to the professor's study to try and help Rogue who we laid down on the sofa. Remy had refused to leave her side so he stared intently at her still form as I explained what happened back at the MRD headquarters and how their minds are going to be fighting each other for control. She would be coming to soon so we had to work fast. We each placed a hand on top of Rogue's head and began to repress any trace of Carol from her mind. We couldn't "get rid of her" but we could make sure that all of her traits were locked away in Rogue's mind for good. Upon finishing Rogue woke up.

"Ah, my head," Rogue groaned. "What happened?"

"Rogue, is that you?" I asked.

Her face contorted into puzzlement. "Yeah, of course it's me. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Rogue think back. Do you remember what happened at the MRD headquarters?" Jean asked.

She closed her eyes and tried to to remember. Once she did she gasped. "Oh no! That woman. Is she alright? Did I...?"

"No, Rogue. The woman, Carol Danvers is alive but she's in a coma," Professor X explained. "Because you sustained contact for so long you have inherited her mutant abilities...permanently. Her psyche, which transferred over to you, has been repressed so that you could keep your own."

Rogue took a moment to take in the news and for the first time she realized that she didn't have her gloves on. "Does that mean I can touch people now?" The professor smiled weakly and nodded. "But that can't be true."

Remy knelt down beside Rogue and looked deep in her scared green eyes. "Rogue, touch me and find out for sure." She began before to protest before he took her wrist in his hands. "Cherie, you can't hurt no more."

Rogue hesitantly brought her hands toward Remy's cheek. Her fingertips brushed lightly against it. Not feeling that draining sensation she always felt with human contact, she continued to place her fingers on his face until her entire hand was laid upon his cheek. There was no draining, no pain just warm skin pressed against warm skin. Rogue shed a tear and quietly said "I'm not absorbing you. I-I can touch you."

"Yes you can cherie," Remy replied with a smile. He wiped her tear away and brushed her bang out of her face. "Yes you can."

Getting caught up in the emotional moment, they leaned forward and shared their first kiss. It was a small, simple peck but it had meant the world to the both of them.

"Semina, are you crying?" Jean asked when a tiny sniffle was then heard in the room.

I wiped the tears away from my eyes and denied it. "No! Of course not. But it's just so beautiful." I looked over at Jean who had an expression similar to mine. "And you're one to talk!"

Jean looked a little sheepish as she brushed her own tears away. Rogue blushed a slight rouge and released an annoyed groan from behind her slightly upturned lips.

In the planning room

After we had taken care of Rogue, patched up all the injured mutants and gathered down in the planning room, I began my cross debriefing in a harsh voice.

"Ten people were injured during today's battle, we have a now comatose woman in our med bay, all evidence of the facility has been incinerated and to top it all off Trask got away!" Some people winced at my tone before I brought it down to a content tone. "But...we stopped the Prowlers, saved the innocent mutants of Bayville, Rogue can finally touch people without draining them and we gained two new members." I looked over at the newest additions to our team and smiled. "Colossus, Gambit, welcome to the X-Men."

Various cheers were heard around the room. "Oh and Scott please take your job back! Being leader is _hell_!"

Scott laughed and said "You did pretty well though. Maybe you could take over the team more often."

I rapidly shook my head no while laughter was heard around the room. I smiled to myself. The bad guy was stopped and the city was saved but I knew that this small slice of peace wouldn't last for long. No matter how much I enjoyed our victory and the cheery mood it had created I still had to break some bad news to the team.

"Yes, we won today's battle but Trask wouldn't accept a defeat this easily," I announced with a heavy apprehension. "I fear that this Sentinel nightmare is far from over."

A/N: I'm now trapped in a glass case of emotion after writing that Romy scene. How CUTE was that? Well there you have it, the day is saved, Gambit and Colossus finally joined the X-Men and the Sentinels were stopped...for now. Leave a review and tell what you thought of this chapter!


	13. Happy Anniversary

Disclaimer: I wish I owned X-Men: Evolution but I don't so you can't sue me legal companies!

A/N: If you look at the publish date you'll see that today makes one year that this story has been up. So since it's kind of the story's anniversary let's see Mina and Alex's one year anniversary. It's a great day to bring in a new villain! ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Happy Anniversary

It had been a couple weeks since we stopped the Sentinel Prowler attack. Trask has been awfully quiet so any effort to track him down has been fruitless. But Mayor Kelly has been quiet the busy bee since the battle. When the news caught wind of what happened at the MRD headquarters he tried to save face by saying they were guard bots. Of course he blamed the X-Men for destroying them and said we were proof that the "mutant menace" should be contained and stopped once and for all. I couldn't wait to finally take these men down and not have to fear for our safety in Bayville.

On the brighter side of things the Brotherhood's renovations to the house were all finished and they were scheduled to move back in by the end of today. A part of me is going to miss having them around but at least now Pietro can't try to interfere with my relationship anymore. But while we lost the them living in the we gained Piotr and Remy who have actually started to coexist peacefully with us. Piotr is such a sweetheart. No one would have ever assumed that about him because between the way he smashes through things with his powers and how big he is everyone was rather intimidated by him. Remy has gained a little fan club from the teenage girls in the house that had something to do with his "hypnotic Cajun accent" and "good looks". However he and Rogue have been getting closer and closer since he moved in. I've never seen Rogue so happy before. Between Remy moving in and finally being able to touch people she's been quite the ray of sunshine around the house. Though now she needed extra training to get full control of her new powers of super strength, flight and super speed.

Being able to touch people has actually been a blessing in disguise and it couldn't have come at a more convenient time because tomorrow was my birthday. You see the professor paid for a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend for us. By "us" I meant Scott, Jean, Anthony, Warren, LaToya, Rogue, Kurt, Remy, Kitty, Ray, Tabby, Amara and Bobby. Not only was it a present for me but it was some much needed downtime for everyone else given what we've been dealing with recently. Of course he's sending Logan and Ororo to supervise us. Something about sending us to Vegas alone scared him a bit. I just wished Alex was able to come spend my birthday with me. He was stuck taking a qualifying test to see if he was going to be able to get into special program for physical oceanography. Alex wasn't able to reschedule it so he's been constantly apologizing for missing my upcoming birthday festivities and promised he would make it up to me. He said he would start by making today one of the days of my life.

* * *

><p>"Semina, what are you doing in the kitchen this early?" Ororo asked as she walked in wearing a purple robe.<p>

"Do you know what today?" I happily hummed. When she shook her head no I giggled and replied. "It's my anniversary! One whole year with Alex. I'm going to cook him breakfast in bed to surprise him."

"Well would you like some help?" Ororo smiled.

I smiled and nodded. My own mother never cooked with me so cooking with Ororo would be a great substitute for that. I would have gotten Aunt Viv to help me but she was out to breakfast with Robert. For breakfast I wanted to make crepes for Alex. It was simple, delicious and I knew he was going to love it. Ororo prepped the pan that would fry the crepes while she mixed the light batter. I took out the electric mixer and put cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and a little bit of lemon juice into the bowl and turned on the mixer. After the mixture was whipped together I turned off the kitchen appliance and walked over to the fridge to get the whipped cream and some fresh strawberries. I cut up the strawberries and carefully folded them into the fluffy cream cheese mixture. Once Ororo finished frying the crepes I spooned the mixture into each thin crepe and folded them. I took the whipped cream and squeezed three dots onto each crepe then put a slice strawberry on each little mound. I placed three crepes on the plate and made hearts around them with the whipped cream. To finish them off I dusted them in powered sugar. While I finished assembling the crepes, Ororo prepared a tray that had two champagne glasses full of orange juice, forks, knifes and napkins. I passed her the two plates of food and sighed wistfully.

"Thank you so much Ororo," I smiled as I kissed her cheek and hugged her. "Alex is going to love this."

"No problem at all child," Ororo replied as she kissed the top of my head affectionately. "And happy anniversary."

I thanked her once more before carefully picking up the tray and proceeding up the stairs. Each step made the tray wobble but I made sure to keep it from falling. Walking down the hall Scott and Jean emerged from his room and they both smiled.

"One year already huh?" Scott asked. Scott was so proud of his little brother. Within one year eh had managed to become a full time X-Man and secure a healthy relationship with one of his most valued teammates. He just wished their parents could have been able to see his progress from an immature hard headed boy into a responsible level headed adult.

"The best year I could've asked for," I beamed. "And the first year of many."

"Well you better get a move on and surprise Alex with that breakfast before he wakes up," Jean urged.

"Right," I agreed as I continued down the hallway and into Alex's room. He was already up brushing his teeth but didn't hear me come in. I set the tray down on the night stand and quickly discarded the robe I was wearing to reveal the sheer white negligee underneath. I picked the tray back up and sat down at the foot of the bed and crossed my legs as I waited for him to exit the bathroom.

Alex finished brushing his teeth and walked outside of his bathroom to see his girlfriend sitting at the edge of his bed in a white nightgown holding a tray of food. "What a nice surprise."

I giggled and carefully set the tray on the bed. I did a little run over to him and leaped into his arms and kissed him. "Happy anniversary baby. Thank you for giving me the best year of my life."

"No, thank you," Alex retorted. "I have the best girlfriend in the world and I couldn't imagine spending the last year with anyone but you." Alex captured my lips for another kiss before asking "So what special anniversary breakfast did you cook for little old me."

"Strawberry crepes filled with whipped cream," I replied. "And I have a special day planned for us. I can't tell you where we're going because it's a surprise. If you want to find out you'll just have to hurry and eat so we can get there."

"Well if you're going to be that way then you can't have your present until we get there," Alex countered with a triumphant grin.

After we showered and got dressed I lead Alex to my car where I blindfolded him. He wasn't allowed to see where I was taking him and this way I could make sure he didn't peek. Our destination was only a short drive away and when we arrived I helped Alex out of the car and took off his blindfold.

"Oh Mina," Alex breathed. "Is this-?"

"Mmm hmm," I nodded. "The lake you took me to exactly one year ago. I figured since it's our one year anniversary we could relive our day of firsts."

Alex took me here for a romantic boat ride on the lake and we loved our time here so much that it became an important part of our relationship. This is the place we had our first date, shared our first kiss and it was first place Alex told me he loved me. We even carved our initials under the old sugar maple tree so when we came back here we would always remember.

"What a creative way to spend today," Alex said, giving me a quick peck on the forehead. "Let's go sit underneath our tree. There's something I want to give you."

Sitting down on the soft green grass Alex instructed me to close my eyes and I did. I felt something slip around my neck and when he told me to open my eyes I looked down to see a flat heart shaped necklace. Upon further inspection I saw that it had our initials inscribed onto it as well as our anniversary date.

"I know it isn't much and you deserve much better but-" Alex began before I cut him off with a kiss.

I smiled widely. "It's perfect. I love it and I love you."

"I love you too," Alex replied as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his chest as he leaned on the tree. For a couple of hours we sat under the tree just talking before we took a short walk and returned to the mansion. As we walked through the door Alex told me about his own surprise.

"I made reservations for us at the most extravagant restaurant in Bayville," Alex said. "Our reservation starts at seven but because I know how long you take to get ready we should get going now."

I playfully hit him in the arm. "I do not take _that_ long to get ready." Alex shot me a teasing look. "Okay maybe I do but isn't it worth seeing me all dressed up for you?"

"You don't need to get all dressed up for me," Alex dismissed. "You're gorgeous enough just the way you are."

"Aww well aren't you a big sweetie pie?" I cooed as reached my lips up to press them against his.

A throaty chuckle sounded from the other side of the foyer. Pietro stood behind us with a very amused look on his face. "Well isn't that cute?" Pietro teased. "The two lovebirds on their one year anniversary. You know I couldn't help but notice that Mina kisses you the same way she kissed me two weeks ago."

My eyes went as big as saucers. "What are talking about? I didn't kiss you two weeks ago!"

Pietro raised an eyebrow and replied in a voice full of rhetoric. "Oh you didn't? Well let me refresh your memory because I have the footage to prove it."

"Semina, what is he talking about?" Alex demanded as he pushed himself away from me.

"Damned if I know," I replied. "I didn't kissed him!"

"Come with me to learn the truth then," Pietro baited and he began to walk toward the elevator to the sub levels.

Alex and I curiously followed. I can't believe Pietro would stoop this low to try and ruin our anniversary. Making up this bogus story just to get us worked up? How pathetic. The elevator dinged as we finally arrived at the main computer level. Pietro pushed the keys on the keyboard and pulled up some footage of the med bay. I realized it was the day I woke up after stopping the tidal wave in Hawaii.

"You know Alex, I have to give you props," Pietro said. "You're _such_ a trustworthy and understanding guy...but you're naive. You shouldn't have left me alone in a room with your girlfriend."

The only thing on the footage so far was us talking but then I watched in horror as I saw myself leaning forward to kiss Pietro. And kiss him I did. It wasn't longer than a couple seconds but the footage proved it all. I had kissed Pietro. I quickly turned over to Alex and scrambled to find some explanation but the more I stumbled over my words, the guiltier I looked.

"Semina...how could you?" Alex questioned with a hurt look in his Brown eyes. "Why would you kiss him?"

"Alex, I-I would never," I foolishly started before I saw Alex's hurt look melt into anger.

"It's right there Semina!" he shouted as he pointed to the screen. "You can't deny it!"

"But I don't know how," I began before he scoffed.

"You know I was wrong about you. I'm done with this," Alex coldly said before storming out of the room. I chased after Alex , begging him to hear me out but the moment he got to the elevator he pressed the door close button and his angry expression was the last thing I saw before he disappeared.

I veered around to look at Pietro who leaned against the wall wearing a very smug expression. "I don't know how and I don't know why I kissed you but it was a mistake." I turned on my heels and punched the button to open the elevator. It opened up and Pietro followed me open before I got the chance to close the doors.

"It sure didn't feel like a mistake" Pietro smirked. "After all you kissed me."

"I don't even remember kissing you," I said as I rubbed my temples.

"Well you did. Or do you want to see the footage again?" Pietro retorted.

"No!" I shouted.

"Aw come on, think of it this way," Pietro began. "I just did you a favor. Now you're free to get back with me. I think that's the upside to this situation."

"I don't want to be with a person like you," I hissed. "Especially not after you did that." I touched the anniversary necklace around my neck and choked back a sob.

"Looks like you're gonna have to add that necklace to the ex-boyfriend jewelry collection," Pietro said. "With the way you lose boyfriends you're going to have quite the collection soon."

"Just shut up," I growled as the door elevator finally opened. "And stay away me from now on okay?"

"No can do, I'm not going anywhere," Pietro scoffed. As I began to walk away he said something that stopped me in my tracks. "So how does it feel to be the reason why your relationship is over?"

I froze in my tracks and for the first time after seeing that footage I began to cry. Scott and Jean walked in and looked at Pietro first then looked at me.

"Semina, what's up with Alex?" Scott carefully asked. "We saw him looking pretty upset when we passed him in the hallway. He said to ask you what happened."

I gave no reply as I covered my face with arm and rushed out if the front door.

Scott sighed deeply. "I'll take Alex, you take Semina." Jean nodded and they walked their separate ways to console the two distraught mutants.

After running out if the mansion I hurried to my favorite place on the institute grounds: the gazebo. I felt a mind approaching and through a shaky, sobbing voice said "Go away Jean. I don't want to talk"

Jean sat down next to my huddled form anyway. "Semina, what's going on? Come on, I'm your friend. You can tell me anything."

Jean handed me a tissue which I gladly accepted and we sat in silence before I decided to speak up. "I something horrible," I finally admitted.

"Like what?" Jean asked.

I hesitantly replied in a low voice "I kissed Pietro." The tears started back up again and I started the full explanation. "After I woke up from the Hawaii thing, I asked to speak with Pietro alone and that's the last thing I remember but today he showed me and Alex the security footage that showed me kissing him. I don't even remember doing that. I would never hurt Alex like that! Alex said he was done and just walked away from me." I rested my head on Jean's shoulder and sobbed even harder. "Jean, I think it's over."

Jean stroked my hair ans tried to calm me down. "Shh, shh, shh. Calm down Semina. What you need to do is go find Alex and talk to him. Try to straighten things out with him because I know how much he loves you. This was one tiny mistake. Once he gets his head straight I think he'll realize that something like this is no reason to end a one year relationship, especially on your anniversary. Just go talk to him."

I sniffled and looked up at Jean. "Do you really mean that?" She nodded. "Where is Alex now?"

"He's up in his room talking to Scott," Jean replied. "And I bet Scott's telling him the same thing I'm telling you. Things are going to be okay, you'll see."

I wiped away the last of my tears and gave Jean a hug. "You're right. Thank you." I stood up and straighten myself out. "I'm going to go talk to him now." I looked up and saw Alex and Scott in the window of his room talking just like Jean said.

"That's the spirit," Jean smiled as she stood up as well. "Once you get over this, it will only make the relationship stronger."

As we made our way out of the gazebo and back toward the mansion I heard a squish underneath my foot. I looked down and saw I had stepped into a strange black puddle.

"Eww, what did I just step in?" I exclaimed in disgust as I tried to lift my foot out of the puddle only to see that my foot was still covered in the tar like puddle. "Oh, eww, it's sticky!"

The puddle then began to expand and snake it's way up my leg. "Ahh! Get it off! Get it off!"

"I'm trying," Jean said as she sent telekinetic blasts at it. Each time she blasted it away it regenerated. It then sprang out and captured both of Jean's hands. "What is this?"

I struggled to break free to no avail. "I don't know but it's disgusting!"

"Hey, who are you calling disgusting?" a male voice said. We looked around until it said "Down here." Jean and I looked down to see a face pop out of the puddle.

"Get off us!" Jean commanded.

"Can't," he replied. "I have orders from my boss to take you two to him."

"Who are you working for?" I demanded as the tar like goo made it's way around our waists.

The puddle chuckled darkly. "You'll find out soon enough."

The tar was starting to spread up to our chest and because we couldn't get out of it so Jean started to call for help. "SCOTT! SCOTT HELP! "

"ALEX! PLEASE HELP! I NEED YOU!" I screamed just as the tar finally made it's way up to our mouths silencing us. "ALEX!"

Alex and Scott who had heard screaming looked out of their open window to see Jean and Semina being covered in some black substance.

"What is that?" Alex exclaimed.

"No time for questions, Alex," Scott said. "The girls need us."

In the time it took them to get downstairs and get outside, a couple of mutants had followed out of the house after them most likely trying to figure out the source of the cries for help. But when they reached outside the tar puddle had swallowed the girls up and began to slink away.

"Oh no you don't," Alex growled as he charged up one of his blasts. His brother knocked his arm away from the tar puddle before his blasts could hit it. "Why did you do that?"

"Jean and Semina are in there," Scott reminded him. "We can't risk hurting them."

"It's getting away!" Alex yelled.

"Logan!" Scott yelled as Logan came outside. He pointed toward the tar puddle that was receding out of the mansion gates. "That thing has Jean and Semina. I need you to track it."

"I'm on it," Logan nodded as he ran to the garage and hopped on his motorcycle.

As the roar of Logan's motorcycle faded away in the distance, Scott turned to address the mutants who had gathered outside. "Suit up, we're going after them."

* * *

><p>My eyes quivered slightly as they slowly opened. That tar person must've taken us to his boss and I assumed we were in his base. I tried to move my arms and legs but they were held down by metal restraints as I lay on a flat metal table. I craned my neck up and felt something around my neck. It felt like a metal collar. I looked to my left and saw a table full of surgical tools and syringes. I looked to my left and saw Jean strapped down to the table next to me.<p>

"Jean, where are we?" I wearily asked.

"No idea," she replied. "But wherever we are, we have to escape."

"Can you use your telekinesis to break the restraints?" I asked.

"I'll try. Let's both try and break out," Jean replied. However the moment we tried to use our powers the collars around our necks shocked us.

"What just happened?" I panted. "What are these things?"

"These collars are specially designed to send an electrical shock throughout your body each time you try and use your powers," a familiar voice said. The metal doors slid open and in walked Robert. "I would know, I designed them."

"Robert?" I questioned in disbelief. "You're the one who kidnapped us?"

"Precisely," Robert replied with a devilish grin. Suddenly his appearance started to change. His skin turned pale white, his once brown hair turned jet black and his eyes lost their iris' and pupils as they turned a deep crimson. The lab coat, shirt and pants he once had on then switched to dark navy jumpsuit that bore a red diamond on the chest to match the one that appeared on his forehead. His shredded cape started tall then dipped to the floor giving his back the appearance of a spider. "And please, call me Sinister. Mister Sinister."

"You can shapeshift?" Jean asked.

Mister Sinister chuckled. "That and much more Ms. Grey."

"All this time, you've been fooling us," I said as I shook my head ruefully. "You _used_ my aunt. You used her to get to us."

"Yes I did," Sinister replied. "What a shame too. She was such a sweet woman. But she was the thing that brought me closer to you. I've been watching the both of you for some time now and I've been waiting to see you two start your journey into higher evolution. Once your powers reach their pinnacle, the result will be..._astounding_."

"What exactly do you want with us?" Jean demanded.

"I want your DNA," Sinister replied. "You two are the prime examples of what true mutant power is. You just don't know it yet but in time you will. Within your genes are the secrets to the ultimate mutant evolution. With your DNA combined with my research I can create the worlds most powerful mutant. A perfect mutant. But there _is_ something I'm missing. I need more than just your DNA to create this mutant which brings me to why I abducted you. I need you two to serve as bait to also get the DNA of Scott and Alex Summers."

"If you so much touch a hair on top of their heads we will destroy you!" I screamed, thrashing against my restraints. "You have us. What do you need them for?"

"The Summers have a very unique genetic code that is essential to my little endeavor," Sinister replied. "The four of you have some of the most advanced mutations I've ever seen. By combining Jean and Scott's genes as well as your genes with Alex's, I can finally create two of the world's greatest super mutants."

"Why didn't you take them when you kidnapped us?" Jean asked.

"Because this way I can guarantee that they'll come here," Sinister answered. "With the girls they love kidnapped by an evil man, this two heroes will come charging in here like lovestruck buffoons."

"Quick question: why are you talking us all of this?" I mused. "You _do_ know that once they save us we'll just come back to kick your ass right?"

"That's where you're wrong." Sinister said as he picked up a pair of forceps. "After I'm done acquiring your DNA, I plan to do a little experiment on both of you."

"You're a sick man!" Jean snarled. I had never seen Jean so angry before.

Sinister barked out a laugh. "You don't know that half of it." An alarm started beeping and Sinister smiled. "Right on schedule."

"Aren't you even the least bit afraid that they're going to come and foil your plans now?" I asked.

"Oh no, my Nasty Boys will deal with them. Now...lets get started." He picked up a syringe and pointed at me first. "No need to look so worried Semina. You'll only feel a pinch."

I began to struggle and Mister Sinister pulled out a small device. He pressed a red button and I felt an intense amount of electricity shock me. I let out a scream and he grinned down at me. "Don't struggle. It'll only make the pain worse."

After Wolverine tracked the girls to a large building in downtown Bayville, Scott and Alex immediately blew down the door to the building. They didn't care how much damage they caused, they just wanted their girlfriends back. An alarm went off the moment the door was blasted in. A group of five mutant men came rushing toward them. Among them was the tar like mutant they had seen at the mansion earlier.

"Who are you guys supposed to be?" Scott asked.

"The name's Ruckus," a man with light pink hair replied. He turned right and pointed to a man with a wooden cane. "That over is Ramrod." Then to a wolf like man. "That's Hairbag." Ruckus turned left and pointed to a muscular man in a vest cracking his knuckles. "Over there is Slab." The tar mutant they saw earlier was the last remaining person not be named. "And you already met Gorgeous George. Together, we're the Nasty Boys."

Shadowcat turned her nose up in repulsion. "Ugh. Nasty is right."

"Why you little-," Slab growled as he took a step forward.

Just then a piercing scream was heard throughout the building and Havok knew it was Semina and began to run into the building.

Slab stood in front of him and said "Not so fast there. You ain't going nowhere."

Another scream was heard from heard from inside the building. Havok's eye began to glow red with anger and in a low guttural voice he growled. "Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!" Havok released a beam so powerful that it sent Slab flying across the hallway and through four steel plated walls.

"Good work, Havok," Cyclops nodded. "Wolverine, take over here while Havok and I get Jean and Semina."

"Go before it's too late," Wolverine replied as eh extended his claws. "We can handle them."

"Let's get 'em boys," Ruckus commanded as they charged for the X-Men.

As Sinister finished extracting the blood of Jean and I he smiled at the two vials of blood. "Liquid gold. Now comes the fun part." He picked up a scalpel and walked over to Jean. "And guess who's first?"

A loud blast was heard as the sliding metal doors of Sinister's lab was blown clean off. In ran a furious Cyclops and Havok, blasters ready to fire at any second. "Get away from her!"

"Ahh, the Summers brothers have finally arrived," Sinister grinned as the placed the surgical knife back in it's place.

"Scott! You have to leave! It's a trap!" Jean called. "He's trying to-"

Mister Sinister pushed the button on his device and shocked Jean. "Uh, uh, uh. No giving away any secrets." Before Sinister could even turn around, Cyclops had sent an optic blast at him knocking him across the room. Cyclops and Havok rushed to their respective girlfriends sides.

Cyclops first broke the restraints then the collar with his optic blasts before sitting Jean up and hugging her close. "Jean, sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Scott," Jean mumbled into his chest. "I'm fine."

Cyclops bent down and kissed Jean before embracing her tightly once more. "I was so worried. I'm glad you're okay."

Havok shot off Semina's restraints and her collar before he sat her up. He noticed that she couldn't even bring herself to look at him. Still feeling the shame of what she had done.

"You still came for me," I quietly said as I stared at the floor. "I thought you were done with me after what happened."

He lifted her chin so their brown eyes could meet and he lightly pressed his lips against hers. "Of course I came for you. I'm not gonna let one little kiss get between us. I love too much for that."

I threw myself into his arms and gripped him tightly. "Alex."

"Semina," he softly said as he kissed the top of my head and gripped me back.

"How precious," Sinister teased as stalked toward us. He lifted his hand and levitated Clops and Havok into the air. "I hate to break up this tender moment but there's something you two have that I want."

"Put them down!" I yelled as Jean and I charged for him. To our surprise before we could even attack him he shot an energy beam from his hand that sent me and Jean barreling back. He lifted us up from our spot on the floor with his telekinesis and smiled.

"Lucky me," Sinister laughed. "The most extraordinary genetic species at my disposal. I've been watching you four for some time now. From when Scott was sent to the orphanage to Alex getting adopted to Jean meeting Professor Xavier and to Semina's being born. I've been watching, analyzing and observing the progression of your powers. Everything about your genes are flawless and I must have them."

"Not if we can stop you," said as the rest of the team finally came in.

The mutant geneticist lost his hold on the boys and they fell to the floor. Havok ran over to his girlfriend to see if she was alright and help her to her feet.

"It's about time you guys showed up," I playfully snapped.

Stone bent down to look at his sister and chuckled. "Nice to see you too sis."

"Hey Wolverine come here for a sec," Havok called. After Wolverine arrived next to him he said "Do me a favor and pop out your claws. Stone can turn his body into adamantium and break the collars off the girls necks."

After the collars were removed from our necks I was finally able to use my powers and I wanted to use them on Mister Sinister.

"You fools," Sinister cackled as he got off the floor. Havok and Cyclops had blown a hole clean through his chest. We all questioned how could could possibly survive that until the hole started to close. Regenerative healing...figures. "Did you really think it would be that easy to defeat me?"

"We're sure as hell going to try bub," Wolverine retorted as he charged toward the evil geneticist.

Each stab of his adamantium claws had no effect on Mister Sinister because each time his body would just reform as if it had taken no damage at all. X-23, Iceman, Berserker, Jubilee and Magma had all followed Wolverine's approach and tried to gang up on him at once but he just put a telekinetic shield around him to deflect all the blasts.

"Who is this guy?" Medulla wondered aloud. "He's unlike anyone I've ever faced before."

"Don't you recognize me honey?" Mister Sinister asked. Medulla shook her head no.

"Go ahead Mister Sinister," I spat. "Tell my aunt who you are!"

Sinister morphed into the man my aunt met in Monte Carlo and he chortled. "How about now?"

"R-Robert?" she asked as her voice shook with disbelief. "But why?"

"I wanted your niece, that's why," Sinister replied, changing back to his true form. "You played right into my hands and into my plans."

"How could you use me like that?" Medulla shouted.

Sinister laughed. "Because it was so _easy_." He took out the two vials of blood and grinned. "And I'd say that was the easiest DNA I've ever acquired. Now if you excuse me, I have what I came for. Next time Summers." Mister Sinister sent a small barrage of energy blasts at each of us and before we could collect ourselves he was already gone.

"Damn it, he's gone," Medulla snarled.

"And he took our blood with him," Jean said shaking her head.

Scott put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Without me and my brother's blood, he can't make his perfect mutant but I know that he' going to come after us again. Hopefully when he does we'll be ready."

Back at the mansion

The hard day I had became more strenuous when we got home. Alex and I talked about what happened and I fully explained things from my point of view. The medication Hank gave me must have made me unaware of what I was doing but it was still a bad decision. Even though I don't remember doing it that still didn't justify my action and I made sure Alex knew that. One thousand apologies later I headed straight for my room and showered. I couldn't go to Alex's room tonight because I knew this whole kiss thing still bothered him. And why wouldn't it? I know what it feels like to see someone you love kiss another person. Some anniversary this turned out to be.

A knock of the door brought me out of my thoughts. "Come in," I called. Alex walked in and asked me to follow him. "Okay sure." He lead me to his room and I gasped slightly as I looked at the sight in front of me. Rose petals had been sprinkled around the room, the room was illuminated only by a couple of candles and soft music played in the background. Alex scooped me up bridal style and kissed me before he walked over to the bed and gently laid me down. He whispered "I love you. Nothing will ever change that" before climbing on top of me. Something tells me that Alex had forgiven me.

A/N: I guess all is well with Mina and Alex. Their anniversary had it's low point but I think they managed to get it together in the end. I'll admit I rushed this chapter a little to get it posted today but I think it was still pretty good but feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought! No really. LEAVE ME SOME REVIEWS PEOPLE!


	14. What Happens in Vegas

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: It's been a while since I updated huh? Don't worry I did that to build suspense...well actually I've been super busy. School reopened last Monday so AP work had me busy and there have been a lot of power outages lately. There is literally a hurricane raging outside my window and it's freaking ridiculous! My router hasn't been nice to me so I apologize for the late update and if there are any mistakes in this which I know there will be. Anyway it's Mina's 21st birthday so you know what that means! No? Well you should! Let's watch her and the team have some fun in the infamous Sin City shall we? ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

What Happens in Vegas

It was six A.M and the water from the shower washed down on me like rainfall. The door of the bathroom opened and closed as Alex walked in to brush his teeth. Last night was the most incredibly romantic night of passion I had ever experienced. Alex wasn't lying when he said he wanted to make our first time together perfect and it was all that and more. Still stuck in the euphoria of last night I woke up this morning in the best of moods not only because of that but because today was my birthday. Even I was surprised that I had survived to live to see twenty one years old, what with me constantly getting hurt and being hunted down. But nonetheless today was my birthday and that meant that for once it was all about me. Today was my day and nothing was going to go wrong.

The shower curtain drew back. "Good morning birthday girl," Alex greeted as he climbed into the shower with me. He tightly wrapped his arms around my wet waist and whispered into my ear. "Ready for your present?" Alex placed a trail of tiny kisses starting from the nape of my neck to my lips causing me to turn around and face him.

"I have to leave in an hour," I weakly protested between kisses. "Are you sure we have time for this?"

"We have plenty of time," Alex mumbled into my mouth as both of his hands cupped my rear. "And if we don't they could always wait."

'Here we go again,' I thought as he lifted me up and pressed my back against the cold shower tile. I wrapped my legs around his waist and thought 'Happy Birthday to me.'

In the hanger at 7:25 A.M.

I heard a collective exhale and a chorus of unhappy groans as I finally strolled in with Alex in tow. We may have taken longer than we expected but trust me every single second was _worth_ _it_.

"Sorry, sorry," I sheepishly apologized as I looked at Alex then back to the group in front of me. "Overslept."

"Well stop standing there like a statue and get a move on," my sister exclaimed. "Vegas awaits!"

"Get on the jet guys, I'll be there in a sec," I told them as I turned to Alex once more. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed before cracking a tiny smile. "Any chance of me persuading you to come with?"

"Babe you know I can't go when I have this important qualifying test coming up," Alex replied with sad eyes.

"I know, I know. I just..." I trailed off before I blushed and I looked at the ground. "My birthday won't be the same without you.

"Don't worry about me. It's your day and I want you to enjoy it," Alex said as he hugged me. "I'll see you when you get back."

I leaned up to kiss him and our lips stayed glued to each others in a passionate kiss until I heard Logan loudly clear his throat behind us. Guess that goodbye kiss lasted longer than it should have seeing as how most of the other mutants were gawking at us from the windows on the X-Jet. Alex and I hugged one last time before I boarded the jet and took my seat. As the engines fired up I blew him a kiss before we took off for Nevada. Seeing as how I didn't get any sleep because of last night's...events I decided to just sleep on the way there.

A couple of hours later

The sound of giggles and growling stirred me from my sleep. I yawned as I slowly opened my eyes. Blinking rapidly to clear the sleep from my eyes, my hazy vision cleared and before me stood my friends holding a stack of pancakes covered with whipped cream and syrup and topped with a big number 21 candle. Logan had even put the jet on auto-pilot to come back and surprise me.

"Happy Birthday Semina!" came the cacophonous roar of the group of mutants before they began to sing to me. No one really knows how to react when a group of people sing happy birthday to you so I just blushed throughout the song.

"Thank you guys," I said when they finally finished. "You sure know how to wake a girl up in the most embarrassing way on her birthday."

"And zhe embarrassment doesn't stop here," Kurt said as he pulled a box out from behind his back. "It's present time!"

On the outside I said "Guys you didn't have to get me anything" while on the inside I thought 'PRESENTS! GIMME GIMME GIMME!'

I opened Kurt's small box first and found a new belly button ring that had a pink heart attached to a chain. It seemed that rather than everyone individually buying me a gift some grouped together to get them. From Warren I received a stunning pair of water drop diamond earrings. Remy and Rogue bought me a pair of fingerless leather gloves and a new pair of combat boots. The short strapless black cocktail dress I got from Kitty, Amara and Tabby was the perfect compliment to the black spiked heels Scott and Jean bought for me. Ray and Bobby had raided Bath and Body Works and gotten me a basketful of whatever they thought smelled nice. My brother and sister bought me an iTouch with all of my favorite songs and pictures already preloaded on them. I guess they remembered that my previous one had blown up with the mansion a long time ago. And last but not least the gift I received from the teachers were two new bracelets, but they were no ordinary bracelets. They contained an emergency supply of water sealed in the metal rings and had the X-Men logo and each one.

"You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for," I thanked as I looked over all my gifts. "Seriously I love you guys."

"Okay no need to get all sentimental, Sprinkler," Logan gruffly said.

I saw that he was holding back a smile and I stifled a giggle. He could be so uptight sometimes.

"How much longer until we get there?" Kitty asked impatiently. "I wanna hit the club scene and dance already!"

"Cool your jets half pint," Logan replied. "I'd say it's only a couple of minutes until we make our descent."

The professor had spared no expense for my birthday weekend and got us luxury suites at the Palms. We had the entire weekend already planned out. After we got settled in our rooms, the girls and I were set to do some shopping while the boys went to a shooting range. Afterwards we're all going to meet up to have a dip in the pool, get pampered at the spa then go clubbing for the night. Saturday we're going to go indoor skydiving, have dinner then check out the casino after seeing a movie in the hotel's state of the art IMAX theater. We were leaving Sunday afternoon so we had all morning to pack so we could make it back to Bayville on time. Everything had been planned down to the last detail and nothing could possibly go wrong.

"Looks like we're almost here," Ororo announced from the co-pilot's seat. "Strap yourselves in and we can begin our descent."

"Oh I can't wait," I excitedly said as I bounced in my seat. "This is going to be the best weekend ever!"

At the hotel

After we arrived at the Palms and received our room keys we all headed to our suites to unpack. The bellhop had already taken our bags to our rooms to save us the trouble of carrying them. From the looks of it our rooms were all next to each others. Scott and Jean shared a room as did Kurt, LaToya Bobby and Amara while everyone else had individual rooms. It probably wasn't going to stay that way seeing as how Ray and Tabby were practically a couple. It's been two years and they haven't defined their relationship yet! Something tells me that might change this weekend. I chuckled to myself as I wondered why the professor even bothered to give those two separate rooms.

I swiped my room key and twisted the knob of my suite open. The moment I stepped in the aromatic scent of potpourri tickled my nose. Wonder struck my face as I looked around my suite. The professor wasn't kidding when he said he booked us luxury rooms. There was a large king sized bed placed against the wall to my right that had a stack of toiletries placed on it. The bed was flanked by two nightstands. One had a phone and the other had a lamp. The floor length curtain had been drawn back and I opened it to reveal a window that had the perfect view of the pool. To my left was a door frame and as I went further into my suite I discovered a living room area with a large flat screen TV, a very comfortable looking sofa and at the very back at small bar with a couple of stools. I figured the last thing in the room I had to look at was my bathroom. I walked out of the living room and walked into the bathroom which was behind the closed door next to it. When I walked in I saw let out a happy squeal. The bathroom had been done in shining white marble and was spotless. The sink was to my left and to my right was a set of steps that lead to a circular tub.

"Maybe I have time to take a quick dip," I said as I looked at the tub.

Deciding it was a good idea I filled it up with warm water and activated the jet settings. I looked through the cabinets of the bathroom and found a bottle of vanilla bubble bath. I quickly poured the liquid in the tub and watched as the plain water became a sea of sugary smelling bubbles. After I stripped out of my clothes I walked up the steps and slowly lowered myself into the water. I released a sigh of satisfaction and I propped my head on the pillow at the edge of the tub.

I closed my eyes and sighed once more. "A girl could get used to this."

After lounging in the tub for a while, a knock sounded at the door. Guess my relaxation time was over.

"Mina, it's us," my sister called from the hallway.

"I'm in the tub!" I called as I began to get out. "Give me a minute!"

I grabbed a fresh towel off the rack and wrapped it around my body. I let the girls in and told them to wait in the living room of my suite as I got dressed. I chose a sleeveless white button down shirt, pulled on a short royal blue skirt and pulled on a pair of white canvas flats.

"Ready to go?" I asked as I finally walked into the living room. Ororo, Rogue, Jean, Tabby and LaToya were sitting at the bar sipping on flutes of champagne. Kitty and Amara dejectedly sat on the couch, disappointed that they couldn't participate in the inking.

"Before we go let's have a toast," LaToya urged handing me a glass. She raised her own glass and said "To Vegas!"

"To Vegas!" we all cheered as we raised our glasses before we each took a sip. The drink was cold and bubbly like soda but tasted sweet and dry at the same time.

Once I downed my first glass of champagne I smiled and asked "Who's ready for some shopping?"

With the guys

The guys had left for the gun range right after the girls went to Semina's room. Their shuttle driver drove them around Vegas for a while until they pulled up to a burgundy and magenta building.

Scott furrowed his eyebrows as he read the sign on the building. "The Booby Trap? That's a weird name for a shooting range."

"Scott, we haven't been entirely honest with you," Ray chuckled as he lead them through the double doors. "This isn't a shooting range, it's a strip club."

"A strip club?" Scott exclaimed as he looked at all the scantily clad women flouncing around on stage. "Whya re we here?"

"Ve're in Vegas!" Kurt answered. "Vhile the girls are out shopping, ve're going to have a little fun ourselves."

Scott still looked absolutely flabbergasted. "Logan, there's no way you agreed to this." Scott looked around to see Logan sitting down in front of raven-haired woman holding a stack of singles. "Logan?!"

"You know sometimes you just have to loosen up, shades," Logan smirked and he leaned back into his chair.

Scott shook his head and shuffled his weight uncomfortably until a tall blonde walked up to him and began dragging him toward a seat. She climbed on a pole and as she spun around it Scott cracked a tiny smile. "M-Maybe I can stay for a little while."

A few hours later

After our little girls only shopping trip we had the hotel bring our purchases to our rooms because we couldn't exactly carry them back ourselves. I'll admit that when it comes to shopping I tend to get a little carried away but I hardly thought that buying thirteen bags of clothes and seven pairs of shoes was "carried away". Logan called to say he and the guys were on the way back so we decided to grab lunch by the pool before our spa appointments. As I kicked my feet in the water I saw the guys coming toward us.

"How was the shooting range?" I asked. Soon they all began to chuckle and snicker before reigning their reactions in.

"We had a blast," Bobby replied as his mouth spread into a very smitten grin and he chuckled once more. "In fact I think we might have to go back sometime soon."

"Well we're happy you guys enjoyed it so much," Amara smiled, unaware of the lecherous smiles on the guys faces.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone had a good day," Tabby dismissed before she cannonballed in to the water. "Are you guys coming in or what?"

Following Tabby's lead everyone but Warren jumped into the pool after her. I swam to the edge of the pool and looked at Warren who still had a shirt on. Even though the secret about us being mutants was out, he was still very shy about letting everyone see his wings.

"Come on, Warren," I pouted. "Everyone already knows about your wings."

"I know...I just don't want people staring," Warren shrugged.

I sighed. "Warren, sometimes we have learn how to deal with the hand life dealt us. So what if people stare! As long as we accept ourselves who cares what everyone else thinks."

"How would you know?" came Warren's rebuttal.

"You seem to forget that I speak from experience," I replied as I turned to swim away.

Warren winced as he saw the protuberant scars on Semina's back. Maybe she did know how it felt to have people staring at her back. Despite the scars, she confidently wore a two piece swimsuit knowing that people were bound to stare. After a brief internal debate, Warren removed his shirt before jumping in the pool. The guests around us looked at him in shock and detest but one woman removed her sunglasses and called out "Hey dude! Love the wings!"

"See? What did I tell you?" I smugly said as I splashed water in his direction. "And just so you know, I love your wings too."

"Thank you," Warren replied as a pink tinge crept on his cheeks. He then used his wings to doused me in a wave of water. "Payback for that splash."

"Oh, you're in for it now, rich boy," I laughed.

At the Spa

Our "dip" in the pool lasted longer than expected and we would have missed our spa appointment if Ororo hadn't reminded us. Soothingly slow music was softly playing from the speakers of the spa as we walked in. All the different aromas in the air were very calming and I felt less tense already.

A woman behind a small wooden podium smiled at us as we walked in. "Welcome to the Drift Spa and Hammam," the calm brunette greeted. "My name is Courtney. How can we service you today?"

"We have a reservation under 'Xavier'," Jean told her.

Courtney scanned the list before smiling once more. "Ah yes, here it is. Follow me. We have your treatments all ready for you. If the boys will follow me for their mud baths, Tina will lead you girls to your seaweed body wraps and facials."

Tina escorted us to a room full of tables and instructed us to strip down before we got wrapped. The seaweed was warm and felt weird against my skin but weird in a good way. A lady went around applying a honey and yogurt concoction to our faces and garnished our eyes with cucumbers.

"I feel like a California roll," Kitty groaned before sighing. "But a very relaxed California roll."

"This seaweed smells...weird," LaToya nervously said. "Are you sure that it's supposed to be helping us?"

I laughed. "Of course. It's supposed to be a great detox."

"Just relax, we only have to be in here for half an hour," Jean piped up. "So try to not think about it."

After a while my sisters paranoid responses died down. When the half hour was up we were cut out of our seaweed cocoons and taken to a different room where we could get our massages.

"If you girls will lay down here, I'll send in our team of massage therapists," Tina said.

A group of brawny men in tight white shirts walked in and a collective swoon was heard.

"Oh wow, they can rub me down any day of the week," Tabby voiced in an infatuated sigh.

'I wonder if the guys were as lucky as us,' I thought as my masseuse, Carlos, instructed me to lay on the table.

The guys, who had just finished their mud baths, were very grateful it was over because now they were able to get their massages. Of course most of them thought they were going to be done by attractive females...well half that phrase was right. Imagine their surprise when a group of hulking women walked in cracking their knuckles.

"Hi, we're your masseuses for the day," the biggest one spoke in a crude voice. "By the end of your session you'll be relaxed and rejuvenated beyond your wildest dreams. Now who's first?"

The guys all exchanged looks of fright and each of them silently pleaded that their massages ended quickly.

After everyone finished their massages, Tina and Courtney sent us to the sauna room. The sauna was separated by a wall that divided the girls from the guys. There was a column of burning coals in the middle of the room and a bucket of water that we could use to create as much steam as we wanted. The only thing left to do was get out hair, makeup and nails done at the salon and we would be ready to head out for the night.

In Semina's suite

Since my hair and makeup were already done at the salon all that was left was to get dressed for my night out. We were going to some water themed nightclub called the Falls which was the perfect choice seeing as how I _am_ a hydrokinetic. Rifling through my suitcase I chose the strapless black dress and black spiked heels I received earlier and as I twirled around in front of the bathroom mirror I thought applying a little red lipstick wouldn't hurt. Smiling I retreated from the bathroom and grabbed my clutch purse from my bed. It was small and only had what I really needed in it: my room key, wallet, cellphone and X-Men communicator. I exited my hotel room to find the gang waiting for me. Anthony presented me with a tiara that read "Birthday Girl" and placed it on my head.

"So are we all set?" I asked with an excited grin.

"Yes and since Logan isn't a "club guy", he left me in charge," Scott said. He looked at his watch. "Our ride should be here soon so we should get going."

"I'll meet you downstairs. I'll go let Logan know that we're leaving then," I volunteered as I walked to his hotel room door.

The door was slightly open and when I peeked an eye in through the crack I saw Ororo lean forward and _kiss_ Logan. WHOA! When did those two get this far? I mean I know there was a spark between them but I never thought Logan would give into it. I gasped and Logan's sensitive hearing must have picked up because he snapped his head to the door. I backed away from the door and knocked on it in an attempt to act natural. Logan eyed me suspiciously as he opened the door.

"Just came to tell you we were leaving," I said as I held back a smile.

Logan continued to eye me before he said "Yeah, alright. Don't stay out too late. Get back here before four A.M and we won't have any problems."

"Sure thing," I nodded as I headed to the elevator. (You and Ororo might wanna close the door too.) If only I could have seen the look of shock that on Logan's face. It must have been priceless! Still chuckling to myself I exited the elevator and when I arrived outside I saw a limo pulling up in front of everyone else.

"A limo?" I squealed. "No way!"

'This is going to be the beginning of a very fun night,' I thought.

At the club

The line outside the Falls Nightclub stretched for blocks and was longer than the Brotherhood's losing streak. Two big and burly bouncers flocked the entrance to the club. From the looks of it, it didn't look like they were going to let just anyone in.

"How are ve going to get in now?" Kurt asked.

"Maybe Semina could 'persuade' the bouncers to let us in," Bobby said, as he nudged in my direction.

Rather than hit Bobby for insinuating I should flirt my way in, I smiled. "Oh, I'll persuade them alright."

I told the group to wait where they were as I sauntered over to the bouncers. The two men exchanged a look but their stern faces never wavered. Tossing a smirk in their direction I asked one of the bouncers to bend down so I could talk to them. A couple whispers later and the other bouncers went into the club before coming out to hand me some blue wristbands. I waved the group over and smiled as I held up the wristbands.

"What did you do?" Ray asked.

"I have my ways," I giggled as I passed each of them a wristband.

"VIP wristbands?" Bobby exclaimed as he looked at the paper bracelet. "Sweet!"

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Seriously how did you get these?"

"What can I say? I'm just a persuasive person," I ambiguously said. "Now let's get a move on! We're wasting precious club time."

As the guys gave up on trying to figure out how I got the wristbands, the girls managed to get the truth out of me.

"I mean it wasn't that hard," I began. "A wink here, a batting of the eyelashes there and all I had to say was 'we have a table reserved under Xavier' and we were in."

We all fell into laughter as we finally reached the heart of the club. The walls were made of glass that had water running down behind it, a fully stocked bar was located at the far left next to a staircase that lead up to the VIP section. The entire club was bathed in a very soft cerulean hue as the energetic patrons danced to the music bumping from the speakers.

"Wow, this place is amazing," an awestruck Amara said.

Tabby let out a woo and grabbed Kitty's arm. "Come on girlfriend. Let's show the people of Sin City how we do it in Bayville!"

Tabby and Kitty disappeared into the sea of people while the rest of us followed the guys who seemed to be headed up to the VIP section. Walking up the stairs the girls and I heard wolf whistles and cat calls. A very ripped guy with a green collared shirt and a pair of oversized sunglasses approached Amara and began flirting with her. Little did he know that Bobby was rather irritated by his advances. Bobby threw an arm around Amara's shoulders and kissed her.

"Back off, muscle head," he threatened. "She's with me."

The guy stared him down and scoffed. "A hot piece of ass like that shouldn't be seen with a loser like you." The guy pushed Bobby down before leaning against the railing to resume his unwanted flirting. "So what do you say beautiful? How about spending the night with a stud like me?"

Amara smirked mischievously. "I say...get lost." While the guy was still in shock from her rejection, Amara used her powers to melt the bottoms of his shoes to the floor. "I'm sure there are plenty of other girls just dying to spend their night with you so maybe you should...stick around."

As we walked passed the guy who struggled to move from his spot, we finally came upon our VIP section which was roped off by yet another bouncer. Flashing our wristbands we gained admission into the prestigious section and we taken aback at how luxurious the place was. We found our reserved table, well it was more of a booth, but no one was complaining. Each booth was lined with black leather and had a square table in the middle of it which had a tray of Patron shots on them. The carpet was a sky blue while the falls were an ivory white and there was a large flat screen T.V against the wall.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," Anthony admired as he plopped on the booth seat. He picked up a shot glass and held it in the air. Everyone who was of legal age followed suit and my brother boomed "We drink on three. One...two...three!"

The harsh liquid burned slightly as it slithered down my throat. I scrunched my face up and cleared my throat as I set my tiny shot glass down. The burning sensation melted away and was replaced with a feeling of looseness. Suddenly I felt at ease and wanted to dance. Amara, Jean, LaToya, Scott, Bobby, Kurt and Ray tagged along while Rogue, Remy, Warren and Anthony stayed in the VIP section. While Ray left to find Tabby in the crowd the rest of us proceeded to dance. So far it had been a perfect birthday. No problems, no drama, no attacks. Just me and my friends dancing the night away. What more could I ask for? Warren had eventually joined us and was presently dancing (and flirting) with a very pretty girl in a red dress. I guess he finally decided that sitting up in the VIP section wasn't as fun as dancing.

'For once, everything played out the way I wanted it to,' I happily thought as I moved the beat of the pop music. 'Things are really looking up. Maybe twenty one is my lucky number!'

About eight songs later I declared that I needed a break from dancing and headed to get a drink. I sat at the bar and leaned against the counter as I caught the attention of the bartender.

"Well hello there gorgeous," the bartender greeted with a wink. He looked around my age and was fairly handsome with a gleaming white smile. His name tag read Mark. He looked at my birthday tiara and nodded. "Birthday huh? Well consider this drink on the house. As a gift from me to you." He turned around to get a cocktail glass and did some fancy tricks with some bottles and a shaker before pouring the light pink drink into my sugar rimmed glass. "A lovely drink for an even lovelier lady."

I smiled and thanked him as I brought the drink up to my lips and took a small drink. It was sweet and tangy and tasted like raspberries. "Ooh this is good. What's it called?"

"Tickled Pink," Mark replied.

I took another small sip. "Why is it called that?"

He began to explain but another man came up and sat beside me. "One Jack on the rocks." The man stared at me for a couple seconds before quickly looking away.

"Let me just tend to him and I'll come right back to you beautiful," Mark flirted.

As I continued to sip on my drink, I couldn't help but notice the man next to me kept sneaking glances at me. Every time he looked my way his face melted into an obvious sadness but I had never seen this man before in my life so I didn't know why that would be.

"Here you go sir," Mark said as he handed the drink to the man.

"Thanks," the man quietly replied.

"Now back to you," Mark smiled as he turned his attention back to me. "This drink is called Tickled Pink because-"

"Semina!" Kitty interrupted from behind me as I turned my bar stool to face her. "There you are. Why are you sitting here when you could be dancing with us? Come on!" Kitty began pulling me away from the bar and I quickly grabbed my drink. When I reached out to grab it I noticed that the man was no longer in his seat.

Mark looked disappointed as he saw me getting pulled away. "Hey! Could I at least get your name?!"

"It's Semina!" I called back as I gave him an apologetic smile before disappearing in the crowd of people.

Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close" was echoing through the club and Kitty and I danced to the music while I took tiny sips of the pink drink. I wasn't even halfway done with it but I already felt like I've had too much. I excused myself from Kitty and stumbled over to the table to set it down. I felt woozy and gripped the table as I clutched my head. I quickly brushed off my brief nauseated state and went to rejoin Kitty. There was still plenty of fun to had tonight and I was ready to take advantage of each opportunity that came around. A weekend in Vegas really out the 'happy' in the words 'happy birthday'.

A/N: There was so much more I could have done with this but I really wanted to update the story for my readers. However, this chapter does prove that I can write an entire chapter where Semina's life is perfectly fine. Now to tear all of that away in the next chapter! *evil laughter* Oh and don't forget to leave me a review!


	15. The Aftermath

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible because I just loved writing it! Seems like Mina and the gang had the perfect night in Vegas. Let's see how their Saturday is going to turn out. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

The Aftermath

9:45 A.M.

The light of the scorching morning rays shone directly into my eyes from the window as I fluttered my eyes open and clutched my throbbing head. From what I could tell through my blurred sight I was back in my room and already in bed. My head felt like Juggernaut took a couple of swings at it and I had a hard time sitting up so instead of trying I let my head fall back on the pillow. The light was still shining into my eyes so I closed my eyes and let out a groan. Is this what a hangover felt like? My body ached, I felt sticky with dried sweat and I had a foul and salty taste in my mouth. I turned away from the window and stared at the door. There was the sensation of weight shifting on my bed and a pair of strong, warm arms wrapped themselves around my waist and brought me out of my thoughts. Still half asleep I snuggled closer to the person next to me as he kissed my neck.

"Mmm good morning Alex," I cooed. "When did you get here?"

"Alex? Not quite," a sleep ridden, husky voice replied.

I snapped my eyes open. I recognized that voice all too well. I slowly turned my head to face the man laying next to me and the moment I saw him I jumped out of the bed with a yelp, tripped over my own two feet and fell to the floor. "What the hell are you doing here?" I felt the rough carpet underneath my butt and looked down and yelped again. I reached up and snatched the sheets from the bed. "Why the hell am I naked?" I wrapped the sheets around my body to cover myself up only to see I wasn't the only naked person in the room. "Why the hell are _you_ naked?"

"Semina calm down," Pietro calmly said as he rested his hands behind his head on the pillow.

"Calm down?!" I hysterically half screamed and half whispered. I couldn't yell because then I would attract unnecessary attention to the room. "Why are even- how did you possibly- what the hell happened last night?" When I saw Pietro was still lounging as if we hadn't woken up next to each just a few moments ago. I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "For God's sake cover yourself up!"

"Why should I? You and I saw enough of each other last night," Pietro smirked. "Your body still looks as amazing as I remember."

Rather than give into my urge to hit him I took a deep breath and asked "Pietro, please, tell me what happened last night."

"You mean you don't remember?" he questioned. I shook my head. Everything was a blur and I had a hard time recalling anything. "How could you forget a night as passionate as that?"

I paled at what he was implying and pinched my lips together. I released a shaky breath and desperately pleaded "I need you to be serious right now. Pietro...did we have sex last night?"

"No," he replied as I let out a sigh of relief. "We had sex _twice. _I swear, the things you can do with your tongue drive me crazy. Just thinking about it is making me excited."

I dropped to my knees and gripped my sheets that were loosely wrapped around my body. Tears streamed down my face as the very faint memory of what Pietro and I did last night hazily resurfaced.

"Why are you crying? We didn't do anything you didn't ask for," Pietro plainly said. "_You're_ the one who came on to _me_, not the other way around. _You_ brought me up to your room and _you_ initiated the sex."

"No, that can be right, it has to be some kind of mistake. What happened last night was a mistake! This was never supposed to happen. You weren't even supposed to be here."

"That's not what you were saying last night," Pietro winked. "Remember? You were _begging_ for it the moment you locked the door. You practically stripped me down in the hallway! You kept saying that you missed me, how much you loved me, how you couldn't wait to be with me again. So what do you say? Ready for round three?"

"I don't even want to look at you right now," I hissed. "I want you to get dressed then leave my hotel room. I want you gone within the next twenty minutes." He began to protest but I cut him off. "I'm not in the mood for any of your crap. Have you ever once considered how I feel right now? I just woke up to find out that I apparently slept with my ex-boyfriend last night and I can't remember how any of it happened. What the hell am I supposed to tell Alex? Just please...I just need you to leave."

Pietro saw how the tears dripped from my eyes and finally moved from his spot on the bed and retreated to the bathroom. I sighed heavily as I stood up and plopped down on the bed. I hugged myself before doubling over to cry.

'Oh my God, what have I done?' I thought as I looked at the clothes scattered on the floor. 'How could I do this to Alex? What was I thinking?'

I wiped away my tears and took deep breathes to calm me down but a knock at the door sent me into a panic. I scrambled to my feet and began looking for my clothes. I hastily pulled on my underwear but couldn't find my bra anywhere. I pulled on the short black silk robe hanging behind the door and tried to fix my messy hair before I opened the door. Standing before me was Alex dressed in a black tuxedo holding a bouquet of red roses. Alex handed me the roses and kissed me on the cheek. I went rigid under the touch of his lips and stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" I finally choked out. "I thought you had a qualifying test today."

"There is no test. I'm really sorry for lying to you but I wanted to surprise you by flying out here to do this." Alex knelt down on one knee and pulled out a small velour box from his pocket. He opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. "We've been together for a year and I'm ready to make our relationship as permanent as our love. There's so much I could say right now but I'm going to get straight to the point. I'm in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you. Semina Erica Wilson, will you make me the happiest mutant on earth and say yes when I ask: will you marry me?"

I stood there and stared at Alex completely dumfounded. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I tried to speak but just kept opening and closing my mouth without saying a word. "I-I-"

"Hey Mina, I found your bra," Pietro loudly announced as he walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. He looked at the door and his eyes widened as he saw Alex. Pietro looked at me then back at him with the guiltiest of expressions on his face that quickly melted into one of annoyance.

Alex looked at Pietro looked he had seen a ghost. He just stared at him before he finally looked at me with an unreadable look. Without a word he rose to his feet, tucked the ring box in his pocket and walked away.

"Alex? Alex, don't go," I inaudibly protested. I slipped on a pair of slippers and started after him but Pietro grabbed my arm.

"Let him go," Pietro insisted. "It's better this way. You still have me."

I roughly snatched my arm away from him and in a low growl said "Do you _really_ think that if I was in my right mind last night that I actually would have willingly slept with you? You must be more full of yourself than I thought." And with that I spun on my heels and chased over Alex. He had gotten in the elevator and I sped up to make it in before the doors closed.

"Alex please say something," I softly begged.

He refused to turn his head to look at me. A pregnant pause passed before he spoke up. "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything," I replied.

"Tell me what I saw wasn't what I thought it was," Alex said, still not facing me.

"I-I can't," I quietly replied.

"You slept with him didn't you?" Alex asked as his voice got slightly higher. When I didn't respond he yelled "DIDN'T YOU?"

"Yes okay! I slept with him," I cried as the elevator doors opened on the lounge level where everyone else was enjoying their breakfast. Everyone's morning was about to be ruined because of our little spectacle.

Scott smiled as he ran up to his brother and asked "So how'd it go?" Alex must've informed Scott of his plan before heading o my room. He saw the look on both of our faces and furrowed his eyebrows. "What happened?"

Alex said nothing as he brusquely walked away from us. I continued to call to him with some hope that he'll talk to me. "Alex I'm sorry!"

"Oh you're sorry?!" he shouted finally turning to look at me. I took notice of his tears first then saw the furious look on his face. "That's all you have to say for yourself? That you're _sorry_?" Alex waved me off as he walked to the balcony and tightly gripped the railing in anger.

All eyes had fallen on me as I stood there clad only in very short robe and a pair of slippers. I had never wanted to disappear so much in my entire life.

"Semina, what happened?" Scott asked as he looked from his brother to me. "Why is Alex so upset?"

"Nothing happened," I lied as I started walking toward the balcony but Scott stepped in front of me. "Really nothing happened."

Logan, who had been watching the exchange from the couch with Ororo, sniffed the air before letting out a horrified gasp. He looked at me with so much disappointment in his eyes. "Oh no. Sprinkler...you didn't."

"This isn't any of your business Logan so stay out of this," I lowly said as I brushed past him while avoiding his cold glare. As I approached the balcony I saw Alex shaking. He was gripping the rail so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Seeing him cry for the first time over something I did only sent me further into my shame spiral. "Alex, I am so sorry." I couldn't control my sobbing as I felt my heart breaking in two. I could only imagine that was but a fraction of what Alex was feeling. "I know that no matter how many times I say that it's not going to change what I did. But believe me when I say that I have no idea how I ended up in bed with him."

"Oh just like you couldn't remember how you kissed him right?" Alex asked through clenched teeth. "You're so full of shit! Do you even believe the lies you tell?"

"I'm not lying," I swore. "There's no way I would even think of cheating on you. And with Pietro of all people no less! I don't even know how he got to Vegas! Why would I ever cheat on you with _him_? He means nothing to me anymore. I love _you_." I let out a sigh when I saw my words hadn't phased him. "I don't deserve you. I'm a horrible person for what I did to you because someone as amazing as yourself doesn't deserve to treated like shit by someone like me." Still nothing. "There's literally nothing I can say or do to make you even think of forgiving me. I've said all I could possibly say...so I guess this is goodbye. For good this time." I started walking away from him but stopped and turned to look at his back. "And for what it's worth...I was going to say yes." I took one shaky step after another as I walked back toward the elevator.

Alex banged the rail and let out a loud grunt. "Wait." He turned and looked at Mina. Her hair was sticking in every direction, her eyes were red from crying, her neck bore a purple passion mark from her night of infidelity and she even smelled like the bastard she slept with. Alex couldn't keep the image of him and her out of his head and it took every ounce of self control in Alex's body to keep his temper in check. "What you did can never be taken back and you _should_ feel guilty about it. How could you sleep with him? You were right about you not deserving me. I don't even want to look at you right now."

I looked down and nodded. "I understand-"

"But," Alex said with a look of regret on his face. "We're not going to end things like this. It isn't fair to me. But I'm not forgiving you either. I can't keep letting you off the hook every time something happens between you and _him. _Things between us have been ruined but with some work maybe we can still salvage something."

"B-but why?" I sniffled.

"When you love someone the way I love you, you sometimes have to find a way to make things work. No matter how horrible the situation," Alex replied. He saw me reaching out to touch him but scooted away from me.

"Sorry," I apologized. I knew Alex was more furious with me than he was letting on so I kept my distance from him. The silk robe I was wearing began to slip down my shoulder and that's when I remember I didn't have any clothes on. "I should probably go get dressed."

Alex followed me out of the balcony and as we neared the elevator doors it opened up to reveal a fully dressed Pietro wearing a very smug expression. I quickly looked away from him as Alex and I started walking past him. Pietro deviously smirked. As we passed he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "So Alex, how does it feel to know that I banged your girlfriend last night?"

Every single mouth and movement in the lounge stopped the moment the words left his mouth. Gasps were heard and I felt my blood turn to ice. It wasn't a surprise Pietro was going to do that and he knew that from my reaction but I was still shocked to hear him say it so happily, like he was proud of what he did. What Pietro didn't expect was the fist that came flying at his face no less than five seconds after he spilled the beans.

Pietro held his now bloody nose and looked at Alex who shook the hand he had punched him with. Pietro then landed a punch in Alex's stomach and the fight was on. Punch after punch was thrown as the two men viciously attacked each other. Months of hatred and bad blood that had built up between them was coming out in this long awaited brawl. Alex charged up his hands and punched Pietro dead in the chest sending him through a nearby table. Pietro quickly recovered, ran at Alex and threw a punch at super speed that sent him flying toward a wall. Alex didn't have much time to recover after falling to the floor on the other side of the lounge as Pietro pounced on him and pounded at his face. They tumbled on the floor as they exchanged blows but Pietro had managed to pin Alex down. He brought his fist down rapidly on his opponent's face and I could see Alex's blood dripping on the floor.

"That's enough!" I yelled as I tired to pry Pietro off of Alex. "Get off of him!" My efforts to separate them were fruitless as Pietro kept attacking Alex.

Feeling someone trying to pull him off of Alex, Pietro brought his arm back and elbowed whoever was trying to stop this fight. A feminine shriek sounded and both boys stopped struggling to see who Pietro had elbowed.

My nose was definitely broken as I felt pain radiating from the spot where Pietro had elbowed me. I touched it and more blood seemed to stream from my nostrils. Even the slightest touch made it hurt. My salty tears mixed with my coppery blood as they dripped onto my lips. I looked at how both boys stared at my nose with remorseful expressions. They wanted to speak but I didn't let them. "I deserved that. Look what I've caused. I can't stay here." Struggling to my feet I ran toward the elevator. Alex and Pietro had both tried to come after me but I immediately pressed the door close button the moment they got close. I pressed my back against the wall of the elevator and slumped to the floor. There was nothing more I could do but sit there, cry and heal my broken nose. The moment I got back to my hotel room I was going to book the first flight back to Bayville to pretend this never happened.

Back in the lounge

Alex pushed Pietro and shoved an accusing finger in his face. "This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you never showed up here!"

"My fault?" Pietro scoffed as he slapped Alex's hand away. "Let's get something straight here, Semina left plane tickets for the Brotherhood before she left. She left a note explaining what hotel she was staying at and what club she was going to. We met up in the club, she told me she missed me then she came on to me. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

Alex took a moment to process what Pietro had said. He remember that Semina said she didn't know how Pietro got to Las Vegas. Was she lying to him? For a moment he calmed down to realize the full extent of his words before his anger resurfaced. "You knew she was drunk, you knew she was vulnerable and you knew damn well she didn't want this!"

"If she didn't want it she wouldn't have kissed me and brought me up to her hotel room," Pietro replied. "Face it, she made her choice and it wasn't you."

"I'll kill you," Alex growled as he lunged at Pietro. Fortunately Logan and Scott had restrained him from going through with his words.

"Haven't you done enough damage here?" LaToya asked as she pushed him into the hallway adjacent to the lounge. "Let me just escort you out." As soon as they were out of the sight of everyone else she pushed him against the wall and sneered at him. "You have ten seconds to tell me the truth. There's no way my sister left you that note or those tickets because she was at the mansion all night after we got back from Mister Sinister's base. So I'll say it again, tell me the truth."

"I am telling the truth," Pietro protested as he reached into his pocket and took out the note and handed it to her. "Here's the proof if you don't believe me."

LaToya quickly scanned the note before crumbling it up and releasing her grip on his shirt. "This doesn't make any sense. T-This is Mina's handwriting."

"I told you I was telling the truth," Pietro said as he fixed the collar of his torn and bloody shirt. "_Everything_ I've said has been the truth."

LaToya huffed. "You know you've pretty much ruined their relationship right?"

"That's not my problem," Pietro affronted as he walked away. LaToya grabbed his arm and shove him back against the wall. "Hey!"

"This is what you're going to do now," LaToya began in a menacing threat. "You're going to go back to your room, you're going to pack your shit then you're going to leave. I don't care if you go back home or if you stay here in Vegas. The point is you've done enough here and you've overstayed your unwanted welcome."

"And what if I don't leave?" Pietro challenged.

"There is a group of highly trained mutants in the next room," LaToya explained. "You could always take your chances with them if you stay. So the choice is yours. I suggest you choose wisely."

Pietro moved her hands from his shirt and walked in the opposite direction of the lounge room toward the back staircase, but not before punching a hole in the wall.

* * *

><p>"You can just stop here," I told the taxi driver as we stopped before Bayville's city limits. "But can I ask you a favor? Can you take my luggage and this note to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters? Leave them on the doorstep, ring it, then you can go. <p>

"I really can't do that," the cab driver shrugged. "I'm a cab driver, not a delivery service."

"I'll throw in a fifty if you do," I said as I took the bill out of my wallet.

"What I meant to say is I'm not a delivery service for _everyone_," he said as he took the fare and the extra money. "Your bags will be there."

"Thank you," I said as I disappeared into the forests' foliage. I hadn't come to the secret spot in years but it was the only place in Bayville where I could be truly alone for a while. After making my way up the waterfall I opened the door and found it exactly the way it was the last time I saw it. It didn't look like Pietro came here anymore but then again what reason did he have to come here anymore? I entered the bedroom and to my pleasant surprise saw that there were new sheets on the bed. I guess I was wrong. But why would Pietro go through the trouble of changing them? I actually didn't care why because it was the least of my problems right now. I plopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

'This where it started,' I glumly thought. 'So many things happened here. There are so many memories that I want to forget of this place.' I picked up the pillow next to my head and cuddled it. The lingering scent of Pietro's old cologne tickled my nose. It's like I can't escape him no matter how far away I am from him. I turned on my stomach and put the pillow back in its place. I crossed my arms on it and rested my head on them as I silently cried. Everything was wrong and I didn't know how to fix any of it. The worst part is everything was my fault.

Outside the cabin

About a dozen men in black jumpsuits with red sleeves were skulking around a forest when they happened upon a small wooden cabin. They were sent on a reconnaissance mission to find any signs of mutant activities in the area.

"Sir! There's a cabin over there. Would you like us to check inside?" one of the men asked their leader who was dressed in a similar jumpsuit on instead of a red sleeve around his arm the letters FOH were written in big white letter son his chest. The name Zane was embroidered onto his jumpsuit.

"Scan the cabin for any signs of life first," Zane replied. "We wouldn't want to barge in on a nice human family."

The man took out a small scanner device and held it in the direction of the cabin. His eyebrows raised as he read the results aloud. "Sir, we have one person in the cabin. Mutant. And from the readings it seems to be a class four mutant, almost a class five!"

"Class four eh?" Zane darkly chuckled. "G.C. has been waiting to get his hands on a class four for quite some time now."

"What do you suppose we do?" the man asked.

"We don't have enough men for a bag and tag when we have a mutant of that immense power," Zane mused as he stroked the stubble on his chin. "Do we have the knockout gas?"

"No sir," the man replied. "All knockout gas is in the rover, sir."

"Then we'll have to drive the mutant out the old fashioned way," Zane smiled as he took a lighter and a can of spray on deodorant.

After crying my eyes out for a good twenty minutes I had decided to rifle around the place to do a little exploring. I came up a small wooden chest Pietro and I put in when we first fixed up the place and opened it. We had put some stuff inside of it sort of like a keepsake chest. I sat down in front of it Indian style and went through its contents. My pom poms from when I was a cheerleader, the blanket Pietro and I used to snuggle under when we watched movies on the old bunny ears TV and a couple of stuffed animals. There were only two other things in the box: a photo album and an extra bottle of Pietro's cologne. I didn't dare pick up the photo album because I couldn't bring myself to go down memory lane. Right now seeing Pietro and I as a happy teen couple was the last image I needed on my mind. However, I picked up the bottle of cologne and gave it a squirt against better judgment. The moment it's scent entered my nose I began to tear up again. It brought about this whirlwind of forgotten emotion that I hadn't felt in a long time. Security, trust, love. But there was something about the smell of the cologne that made me frown. It smelled smokier than I remembered.

"That's not the cologne," I said as I sniffed the air. I got up and the strong scent of burning wood made my eyes water.

'Is that burning wood?' I thought in alarm. 'What's on fire?'

I ran into the bedroom I was previously in and coughed uncontrollably as I saw half the room covered in flames. I spun on my heels and quickly hurried away from the room. Seeing on how this was a wood cabin, the fire was spreading fast and would engulf everything within in soon. That's when my telepathy picked up that I was surrounded. This had been planned. Someone had set the cabin on fire to drive me out. The questioned remained as to who would do that. A piece of the roof collapsed behind me and fell on my leg pinning me down. My survival mode kicked in as I began to frantically try to pull my leg out from under the now burning wood. After a few pulls I was finally able to pull my leg out and make it to the door of the cabin. Unfortunately for me I had inhaled a lot of smoke and woozily dropped to my knees just before I reached the door. Everything was going dark as I continued to cough but I was conscious long enough to see the door fling open.

Zane bent down to examine the female mutant struggling to stay conscious on the floor. He let out a sigh. "Such a shame that a pretty young thing such as yourself was born a disgusting abomination."

The man in the jumpsuit stroked my ash covered cheek. "A-are you going to kill me?"

"Oh no, you don't have to worry about that. We're friends," Zane explained as he took out a small syringe of lilac colored liquid. He jabbed it in my arm and as my eyelids got even heavier I caught one last thing before I slipped into unconsciousness. "Friends of Humanity."

A/N: Now THAT was an exciting chapter! Coming up we'll see what Friends of Humanity has in store for our captured heroine. And don't forget: REVIEW YOUR HEART OUT FOR THIS CHAPTER!


	16. An Unlikely Alliance

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Let me just start by saying I hate people and have lost all faith in humanity. People broke into my house and stole my laptop. That laptop had the rest of this story on it. None of the chapters were finished but now I have to write them over again. Maybe I should see the silver lining in this as a way to improve the story and make it as enjoyable for my readers. Here's a very long awaited chapter so ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

An Unlikely Alliance

When Lance returned to their room he found Pietro laying on the couch of their suite, hands over his face and clothes tattered and bloody. He called Wanda over to check on her brother and get him patched up while Pietro told the events that had just transpired. Now Lance and Wanda watched as Pietro angrily muttered to himself as he hastily packed his bag.

"Stupid Alex. Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"

"Pietro this time you deserved it," Lance speculated. "You overstepped your boundaries and slept with his girlfriend. Hell, if I was him I would've done the same thing."

"Oh no, I am not taking the blame on this one," Pietro selfishly retorted. "Mina came onto me! I'm not the one who overstepped boundaries."

Lance shook his head and said "If what you said earlier is true then she didn't know what she was doing."

"Even so!' came Pietro's exasperated reply. "Semina wanted this or else she wouldn't have kissed me first."

"You didn't have to sleep with her," Lance said disapprovingly. "You could have said no. Alex was proposing to her and you robbed her of her happiness."

"Pfft, she isn't happy with him," he dismissed. "She misses me. I know she does."

"You know what I think is your problem? You can't stand the thought of losing. Here's the one girl who you ever cared deeply about and she's with another guy. You're just gonna keep chasing her until you take Alex out of the picture but in the process you're gonna end up making Semina hate you."

"Shut up," Pietro growled at him. "You don't know me as well as you think."

Lance threw his hands up in defense. "If you say so. Pietro,look. You're my best friend and I'm just telling you what you need to hear. You're gonna end up driving Mina away and she's going to hate you for what you're doing. And from what I can tell, she's already halfway there."

"I said shut up!" Pietro sped over to him, and with a quick swing of the arm, his fist connected with Lance's cheek.

Lance staggered back before he snarled and began to cock his fist back. Wanda, however, quickly inserted herself between the two mutants to prevent any chance of another fight breaking out.

"Pietro, just stop," Wanda commanded. "I agree with Lance. You're going about this all wrong. I want to see you back with Mina too but the way you're trying to do that is more harmful than helpful."

Pietro stood only half listening to his sister's lecture as be began to cough. The smell of smoke began to fill his nostrils and a sense of panicked hysteria washed over him as he dropped to his knees in an unending coughing fit. The coughs became more intense as the stench of burning wood seemed to fill the entire room.

"Pietro what's wrong?" Wanda asked as she knelt beside him. Despite being very upset with him Lance, who had his back turned to Pietro, glanced back through his peripheral vision in slight concern.

Pietro's coughing fit was dying down and soon all the feelings of panic began to slowly dissipate until then he felt...nothing. "God, can't she keep herself out of trouble for two minutes?" Pietro quietly mused as he stood and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Wanda asked as she watched him head for the door.

"Mina's in trouble...again," Pietro responded with an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to save her as usual."

"Shouldn't you tell the X-Men?" she asked.

Pietro scoffed. "I don't need to tell them anything. I don't need their help."

"What if it's too much for you to handle?"

"Then you let me worry about that." And with that he left.

Wanda sighed and walked to Scott's room where she hoped she'd find Alex. When Alex opened the door his face, which was a little swollen from being hit so many times, morphed into an expression of confused annoyance.

"What do you want?" Alex curtly asked.

"It's about Semina." Alex rolled his eyes and began to close the door but Wanda caught it. "She's in trouble and she's going to need your help."

"Let Pietro save her," Alex dryly dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"He already went after her but she needs _you_. You know she does," Wanda told his just as he shut the door.

* * *

><p>My head throbbed as I sat myself up. Whatever he injected me with was wearing off but I was still very sluggish. My vision was a plethora of blotchy and hazed muted color. The floor was cold and metal and I smelled ash in the air.<p>

"Oy, the little sheila is awake," an Australian accented voiced spoke.

I snapped my head up to see Pyro playing a small ball of fire. The sight of the fire combined with what just happened was enough to send me scrambling backward from him and into the metal bars of the cage. All those sessions with the professor didn't seem to be doing anything. I felt as if my pyrophobia was now working in overdrive. There was now a trace of burning flesh lingering in the air and I could faintly hear screaming. I covered my ears with my hands and tried to shoo them away.

"What's a matta sheila? You look spooked," Pyro asked with a raised eyebrow.

He tried to come closer but I scooted further away from him. "Stop right there. Just st-stay away from me. You're just like him." I pointed to the fire ball and squeezed my head tighter as the screaming became louder.

"Like who?" he questioned as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"My brother had the same powers you did. Magneto tried to enhance them but something went wrong and...and he..." I replied as I felt tears well up in my eyes.

For the first time since she woke up, Pyro took notice of how vulnerable she looked. The girl was absolutely terrified of him! And all because of the little fire ball he had in his hands. Feeling sorry for his elemental opposite he extinguished the ball in an instant. "See look, the fire's gone. Ol' Pyro aint gonna 'urt you. I'm in the same boat as you."

Peeking an eye open, I saw the ball was now gone and relaxed a little. I took slow, dragged out breaths as I hugged myself. Calming down slightly I managed to ask "How'd you end up here?"

"Bucket 'ead sent me to look into these Friends of Humanity blokes and they snatched me up the moment they detected me on their scanners," Pyro replied with a scowl on his face.

"Does Magneto know you're here?"

"Oh 'e knows but 'e ain't coming to get me. Probably gonna to leave me 'ere to fend for me self. Obvious punishment for getting caught."

"Sounds like him." As a silence found its way into our conversation, the low hum a small generator caught my attention. How I could have possibly gone all this time without noticing the green force field around our cage is beyond me. Of course my powers still worked inside the force field but any chance of contacting the professor via telepathy was out of the question. Even if I had my communicator on me, I already knew the Friends of Humanity were scrambling the signals. The man who had taken me walked out of a pair of doors flanked by two guards with guns.

"Seems we got lucky today boys," Zane spoke with a devious smile. "We caught ourselves an X-Man. Semina is it?"

"Yeah, so you know my name. Big deal," I sneered.

One of his guards handed him a manilla folder. "Born in Richmond, Virginia to Dwight and Estelle Wilson. Three siblings, all mutants, one deceased. Vivian Johnson, aunt, also a mutant. Former X-Man that came out of retirement not too long ago. Shall I continue?"

"Where did you get that file?" I growled as I lunged to the front of the cage and gripped the bars tightly.

"We're more resourceful than you think Semina," Zane said as he toyed with me. "You're a class four mutant, damn near class five and we've captured and caged you in less than hour. But then again you always seem to be getting captured."

"The X-Men will come after you," I assured him. "They'll find me."

"Unlikely. We've already destroyed your communicator and this force field ensures that the son of Magneto can't track you." Zane let out a chuckle. "Perhaps we'll capture the boy next to lure out his father."

"Stay away from him!" I barked. "If you so much as lay a finger on him I will torture you in ways you never thought possible!"

"Ooh temper temper," Zane said. "Wouldn't want Sierra to come back, now would we?"

My jaw dropped slightly. "How long have you been watching the X-Men?"

"Since the first Sentinel attack. My employer wants to make sure your little superhero team is out of the picture before he can eliminate Bayville of all mutants."

"Who exactly is your employer?"

"You'll find out sooner or later."

"What do you want from me now?" I questioned.

"Nothing at the moment. I just wanted to come out a personally wish you a happy belated birthday and to welcome you to your new home."

As he walked back through the doors I let out an irritated groan. I've been captured two times in three days. I'm getting sloppy and this is my way of paying the price. When this is all over I'm going to put myself through some intense training.

"So how do you plan on getting out of 'ere sheila?" Pyro spoke up.

"As long as that force field is up we're not leaving this cage," I slowly replied as I tried to think of a plan. "There's nothing to do but wait for the X-Men to get here."

"And what if they don't?" Pyro asked.

I sighed and smirked. "Then we'll just have to find a way out ourselves."

* * *

><p>Pietro arrived at the last place Semina was before their link was disconnected. He walked around the charred remains of their secret spot trying to find some kind of clue as to who could've taken her. "Hmm what's this?" Pietro asked as he knelt down. There was some kind of red band laying on the ground. It had the letters FOH on it and he immediately knew who had taken the hydrokinetic. He took off in the direction of the mutant hunters base but when he finally reached it, the entire base was empty. Everything had been cleared out and there was no sign of activity anywhere.<p>

"I'm right back to square one!" Quicksilver groaned as he kicked the wall next to him. "The only way I'm going to get anywhere on trying to save her is if I ask..." Quicksilver sighed and put his head down in defeat. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

When Quicksilver arrived at the mansion, he went directly to the professor's study.

"Pietro? To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" Professor X asked without turning around from his computer.

"Mina's been captured...again," Pietro explained. "She was taken by the same people who took the Morlocks but their base has been cleared out. I need to know if you can track her down."

Professor X let the information sink in. "I can't use cerebro to locate her with the force field they have around their facility."

"So how am I supposed to find her?" Pietro snapped.

A beeping was heard on the computer signaling an incoming transmission.

"Professor, I have some bad news," came Logan's voice from the transmission. "Semina's been captured by the mutant hunters. We have her coordinates and we're en route to save her."

"But how did you locate her?" Professor X asked.

"The bracelet we gave her for her birthday is equipped with a tracking chip," Logan said. "You can never be too careful with her. Good thing we had it installed. We're faxing the coordinates over to you now. Have Medulla and Beast meet us there in case we need the help. Logan out."

A piece of paper spat out of the printer and the professor smiled as he handed the paper to Quicksilver. "I believe this will help in your endeavors."

"Thank you professor," Quicksilver said as he quickly read the coordinates and sped to Mina's location.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me? Guard!" I called as I waved him over.<p>

"What do you want?" the guard demanded.

"I need to use the bathroom," I replied.

"No," the guard curtly replied.

"I'm on my period buddy," I bluntly announced. "Do you really want to clean up that mess?"

The guard looked absolutely horrified at the thought and waved two more guards as he turned off the generator. They restrained my arms and I smiled back at Pyro.

"Thank you boys for being so complacent...and gullible," I smirked.

Pyro clicked his lighters and I closed my eyes as he made a giant fire dragon. The guards let go of my arms and ran off screaming. An alarm sounded and I let out a chuckle.

"Right on schedule," I remarked as I took a defensive stance. "Think you can keep up with me, flame thrower?"

"As long as you don't slow me down, water 'ose," Pyro replied and he cracked his knuckles.

Guards came pouring out of the doors and pointed their guns at us as they gathered around me and Pyro in a circle. I held my arms up as if to surrender but soon brought them down to burst the water pipes above their heads and freeze the weapons in their hands. Now unarmed, the guards charged for us hoping to fight us hand to hand. While Pyro tormented them with his fiery creations I burst the water from a couple more water pipes and simply froze any guard that came my way. Soon enough all the guards were either frozen or had retreated from fear. Zane walked out and snapped his fingers signaling more guards came in.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to escape?" Zane smiled.

"Of course not," I replied. "We thought it would be more of a challenge."

"Nevertheless," Zane irritatedly continued. "Guards, put them back in their cage."

The new wave of guards were unarmed but they had doubled in size. What is it with evil mutant-hating organizations having so many guards?

"Not that we're buddy-buddy or anything but what's say we make quick work of these guards then go get some grub?" Pyro suggested as a loud grumble was heard in the room. No doubt it was his stomach.

"I know a great diner not too far from here," I told him. "I'll even pay."

"What about this: whoever takes out the most guards buys the other their meal," Pyro said. "Deal?"

"You're on," I grinned.

Using my combat skills I knocked out guard after guard until four ganged up on me and two held my arms behind my back while the other two hit me in my stomach and face. I brought my leg up to the side of one their heads knocking him down then kicked the other in the crotch. "Didn't your mom ever tell you it's not nice to hit a girl?" I sent psionic blasts at the holding my arms and sent them to the floor in pain. I looked around the room to see guards scattered on the floor and Pyro walking over to me.

"Twenty-two...twenty-three...twenty-four," I counted. "I took out twenty-four. What about you?"

"Twenty-two," Pyro huffed.

"I guess that means you owe me a meal," I triumphantly grinned. I stopped grinning as I sensed a mind trying to leave the room. I gathered some water and froze Zane from the waist down.

"What do we do with him?" Pyro asked.

I thought for a moment. "Hmm, let's let the police take care of him."

"That's no fun," Pyro frowned.

"But feel free to burn this place to the ground," I chuckled.

Pyro's face lit up like a tree at Christmas. "Alright! Magneto never let me burn anything down."

"_After _we get everyone out first," I quickly added. "I'm all for arson of an evil facility but a senseless murderer I'm not."

After St. John and I finished destroying the Friends of Humanity base we hiked up the road to the diner I was talking about. We talked for a bit as we enjoyed our meals. It turns out that he had published a couple books in his time and I was taken aback by the fact that he was an educated man instead of the mindless crony I thought he was. It turns out he didn't even want to work for Magneto. He had only agreed to it because he had nothing else to do with his time.

"Well have you ever thought of doing something good with your life?" I asked.

"If you're asking me to join the X-Men, you can already predict my answer," St. John laughed.

"I was talking about joining S.H.I.E.L.D," I said. "You could live with the Brotherhood, work for Nick Fury and get out from under Magneto's influence."

"I don't know," he sighed. "I don't exactly scream 'model citizen'."

"Think about it," I goaded. "I'm sure you'll fit in with them just fine."

"I still don't know if-" he began before I mentioned that Wanda would be living there too. "Well if you put it that way, maybe I'll give it a go."

Just as I waved the waitress over to order dessert, Quicksilver burst in. He quickly scanned the restaurant before he saw me and rushed over to the table.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded. Seeing his face was the last thing I wanted to do.

"I'm, um, here to rescue you?" Quicksilver quietly said.

I rolled my eyes. "Does it look like I need rescuing?"

"Um...no," he replied. "It looks like you're having dinner with...Pyro?"

"Hey there!" St John greeted with a smile, completely oblivious to the tension that just filled the room.

Just then the X-Men came in as well. Fists, blasters and claws all ready to attack. By then the entire diner had cleared out leaving only the mutants in the restaurant. They powered down once they saw their teammate was fine.

"And you called the X-Men?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Guys, I'm fine! Pyro and I escaped, we took care of Friends of Humanity and burned the place to the ground."

"But we thought you were in trouble..." Kitty sheepishly said.

"Who told you that?" I asked. Everyone seemed to glared intensely at Pietro who quickly chuckled in embarrassment before speeding out of the diner. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Go back to the mansion. I'm fine. I'll be there in a second."

The X-Men filed out of the diner and I looked at St John who was laughing his head off. I shot him a look and said "That's not funny. Look, I'm going to leave. This day has taken a lot out of me. You already know where the Brotherhood lives so just show up anytime you want. They can't turn you away even if they tried."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"They're still a little scared of you," I giggled. "Anyway thanks for buying me dinner."

"No problem, sheila," he dismissed. "You 'elped me escape so I guess we're even."

After I left with the X-Men and returned to the mansion Hank insisted that I come to the med bay for a quick examination. All the injuries I sustained were minor cuts and some bruises but he wanted to make sure my lungs were fine from the smoke inhalation and he took some blood to make sure everything was okay there too. After he finished I wasted no time locking myself in my room. I was picking up so many thoughts about what I did in Vegas and I already knew the news had spread to every inch of the mansion. I couldn't even face my own teammates. I was too disgusted with myself. If I couldn't forgive myself, how was anyone else supposed to?

In Hank's lab

"Alright, let's take a look at Semina's blood sample," Hank said as he slid the slide underneath the microscope. He looked in and his eyebrows immediately furrowed. "Well this is odd."

A/N: BOOM! Cliffhanger! And I'm not even sorry about that. But I am sorry this took so long to upload! I'm on vacation for the next week so maybe I'll push out some new chapters. Don't forget to leave a review for this chapter!


	17. Bombshell

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N:Two new chapters in one day? I MUST BE SANTA CLAUS! Well here's a chapter where a lot of bombs will be dropped. I guarantee you'll enjoy it so ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

Bombshell

I sat on my bed with my legs crossed furiously flipping though my calender. "No, no, no. This can't be right." I bit my lip and groaned as I helplessly looked toward the ceiling. "Please tell me that this isn't happening."

My telepathy picked up my aunt outside of the door and when she knocked on it and I told her to go away. Ever since we got back from Vegas, I've been too ashamed to even come out of my room except for training and getting food. Isolation was the exact thing I needed seeing as how I'm the pariah of the mansion. My aunt, who clearly ignored my request for her to leave, entered the room with a bothersome look on her face.

"Didn't you hear me?" I spoke without looking up from my calender. "I said go away."

"Oh no, I heard you but I'm not going to," Vivian replied.

I rolled my eyes and continued to look through my calender. "Fine. Stay. I don't care."

Vivian sighed and took a seat next to her niece on the bed. "Semina, what is wrong with you? You've been acting strange for weeks now. You barely come out of your room, you don't talk to anyone and you look like an absolute wreck."

"The entire mansion knows I cheated on Alex with Pietro," I replied. "Excuse me for not being a social butterfly." I closed my calender and threw it on the dresser next to me. I pulled my knees up to chest and placed my head on top of my knees. "Now will you please leave?"

"There's something you're not telling me," Vivian said as took notice of Semina's recluse posture.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're jittery, you look nervous and you haven't stopped looked me in the eyes since I entered the room. Don't even try to lie and say something isn't wrong because there is something wrong and I'm not leaving until you tell me."

I took a deep breath and finally lifted my head to look at my aunt. "I'm late."

Vivian closed her eyes and took a breath before she spoke. "By how many days?"

"Fifteen."

"Have you taken a test yet?" I shook my head no. "Well before you jump to any conclusions you need to be sure. Stay here I'll run out and get you one."

I watched as my aunt hurried out of the room and I sighed. "I can't be pregnant. I just can't."

In Hank's Lab

Alex walked into the lab and Hank waved him over to a microscope.

"So what did you want to see me about Hank?" Alex asked as he approached the furry blue scientist.

"Hello Alex," Hank greeted. "I want you to look into this microscope and tell me what you see."

Alex looked in and said "Looks like a normal blood sample to me."

Hank switched the slides and said "What about this?"

Alex looked in once more and furrowed his eyebrows. This sample was very different from the previous one. The red blood cells were spackled with black spots and had little purple balls attached to them. "Whoa, what is this?"

"This is a sample of Semina's blood after she returned from the Friends of Humanities base," Hank explained. "The purple balls are from the paralysis fluid they injected her with but the black spots on the cells are a different story. It's taken me weeks to figure out what they were. Whatever is in Semina's blood is far more advanced than anything I have in my database. I was able to identify it as a highly enhanced strain of lorazepam. "

"How did it-"

"Judging on how long it was in her system I would estimate around the time of her birthday. Lorazepam is used a sedative to calm patients down via injection but it seems that the drug was taken orally."

Alex looked puzzled as he asked "What are you trying to say?"

Hank took off his glasses and looked Alex in the eye. "Alex, Semina was drugged. Someone must have slipped the drug in her drink without her knowing. One of the side effects is memory loss which explains why she couldn't remember what happened that night. I know what, um, transpired between her and Pietro but I can assure you that she had no idea what she was doing."

In Semina's Room

When my aunt returned from the store, I immediately holed myself in my bathroom to take the test. With shaky hands I looked on the blue box to see how long it would take. Five minutes. Each minute that passed was lengthy and painful. It seemed more like days had passed rather than mere minutes. Finally five minutes had elapsed and I fearfully picked up the plastic stick and read the results. I slowly sat on the edge of sink and looked at the positive sign staring back at me. Positive. The test was positive...

"Semina, you've been in the bathroom for a long time," Vivian called through the door. "What does it say?"

I walked out of the bathroom holding up the test. "I guess I better start buying diapers and baby formula."

"Oh honey." Vivian wrapped her arms around her niece's shoulders.

I made no move to hug my aunt back. "I stared at that stupid pink plus sign for ten minutes hoping that I could make it disappear."

"You're a strong woman now Semina," Vivian told me as her eyes began to water slightly. "You have me and your brother and sister to help you. You'll get through this."

"Get through this?" I asked in disbelief as I shrugged her hands off of me. "I don't want to get through this! I never asked for this. It's bad enough we're facing a possible war but I don't need to add a baby in the mix of all that."

"Where are you going?" Vivian questioned.

"Out." I snatched my car keys off the nightstand and slammed the door behind me. I rushed down the stairs, ignoring Kurt who called for my attention, and disappeared out of the door. After driving to my destination I parked the car and stared off into the distance. My grip on the steering wheel tightened as I slowly put my head down.

How could I be so reckless? How could be so stupid? How could I be so careless? I never stopped for one moment to think that this would happen. When Alex and I had sex the morning after our anniversary we didn't use protection so of course I knew _how_ this happened. I had no idea if Pietro had enough sense to use a condom while we were in Vegas but- wait a second. I slept with Pietro the same day I slept with Alex so that meant...

I snapped my head up. "Oh no," I whispered to myself. "Either one could be..."

And here I thought things couldn't get any worse. I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back in my seat. "What a mess." I closed my eyes shut and put my hands on my face. A knock of my window startled me. I turned my head to see Alex standing outside of car motioning for me to step out of it. I hesitantly reached for the handle and slowly pushed the door open. I hadn't spoken to him since Vegas and I knew he was still furious at me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I avoided his gaze.

"I came to talk," he replied.

"What about?"

"What do you remember about the night you slept with Pietro?" Alex bluntly asked.

That question caught me completely off guard. "Not much. All I can really remember are very vague memories of me bringing him upstairs. Other than that everything's a blur. There are vague things I can remember during but um...I don't think you'd want to hear any of that."

Alex nodded and looked at the ground.

An awkward silence lingered in the air. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Alex avoided my gaze and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, um, there's a lot more we have to talk about actually."

He joined me on the trunk of my car and told me about what was in my blood that night and I looked at him with surprised eyes. I had no idea how that happened...unless the man that sat next to me had something to do with it. So all this time I blamed myself for not loving Alex enough to stop myself from sleeping with Pietro but in reality it was because I was drugged.

"You weren't lying when you said you didn't know how you ended up in bed with him."

"I told you that. I would never cheat on you." I let my hand slide over to his and embraced it. "I love you, Alex. I never stopped loving you."

I swallowed at the lump that began to form in my throat as Alex removed his hand from underneath mine and walked toward a tree which he leaned as he looked off into the distance. I sighed and bit my lip to hold any tears back. I was getting off the trunk of my car when Alex turned back to look at me. Our eyes locked and for a moment my breath caught in my throat. We both started to take small steps toward each other until we met in the middle of Lookout point.

"Semina?"

"Yes Alex?"

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

"Truth be told, I can't trust myself either so I understand."

"I'm scared that you're always going to go back to him."

"But it's _you_ that I want."

"I-I don't know if-"

"If what?"

Alex bent down on one knee and pulled the velour ring box out of his pocket. "I don't know if what I'm doing is the right thing but what I do know is that I love you more than I love myself. I came out here to tell you that I couldn't forgive you for what you did despite knowing the truth but then I looked into your eyes. I saw the sadness and the sorrow in them and I knew that you are terrified to lose me. And if you look in my eyes you'll see the same thing. So Semina, I'm going to ask you again: will you marry me?"

Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks and just as I opened my mouth to reply my stomach knotted up and reminded me of something. "Alex get up. There's something you need to know first. Something that's going to make you rethink this."

Alex slowly got up "What is it?" His eyes widened and he said "Oh no, don't tell me you're thinking of going back to-"

"No! No, this isn't about Pietro," I quickly told him. "It's about me."

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, fear immediately flooding his eyes. "The side effects from the serum aren't coming back are they?"

I shook my head. "I, uh," I began before I felt more tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Semina, you're scaring me. What-"

"Alex, I'm pregnant," I blurted out.

"What?" he asked as everything around us seemed to stand still.

"I'm pregnant," I repeated.

Alex froze and stared into my eyes for some kind of confirmation of this news. Soon his mouth spread into a grin and he began to chuckle until he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace and spun me around.

"Did you even hear me?" I asked as continued to spin me. "I said I'm pregnant"

"Yes I heard you. That's amazing! Now we can start a family and-"

"Alex you might not be the father!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Alex paused in mid spin and put me down.

"Now you see why I can't give you an answer," I explained. "I don't want to get your hopes up in the event that the baby isn't yours. I don't even know how I'm going to explain this to anyone at the mansion."

"I don't care," Alex stated. He took my hand and slipped the ring on my finger and kissed my lips for the first time in weeks. "I don't care if the baby isn't mine. I'll raise him or her like she's my own child. I love you and I'm tired of being so angry at you. All I want is for us to be okay again. Nothing else matters. As long as that asshole stays away from you we won't have a problem."

"That I can do," I tearfully smiled as I wrapped my arms around him. "So when do let everyone know the good news?"

"Soon," he answered. "When everyone is used to us being together again. For now, let's get you home. It's almost dinner time and now that you're eating for two, you need to keep your strength up."

I smiled as I intertwined my hand with his and walked to my car. Maybe things will be alright after all.

One week later

A week had passed and I was doing a good job concealing both my pregnancy and my engagement to Alex. All was quiet with Mayor Kelly so there was no dangerous missions that could put the baby in jeopardy and I could still train just as long as it was nothing too strenuous. The inhabitants of the mansion were once again accustomed to Alex and I though some were questioning why he bothered to take me back even though they knew the extent of the circumstances surrounding my infidelity. Hopefully that wouldn't last too long seeing as how Alex and I planned to announce our engagement tonight at dinner.

As I picked at my salad I glanced at Alex who sat to my left holding my hand underneath the table.

(Are you ready?) I asked.

(Yes, I am) he replied. Standing up he cleared his throat and asked for everyone's attention. He asked me to stand up as well and took my hand in his once more. "Hey everyone, I, well we have a big announcement to make. Last week I made the best decision of my life. I proposed to Mina and she said yes!"

Gasps were heard around the room as I showed off my engagement ring that sparkled on my finger. "The ceremony is next month because we want to get married as soon as possible."

Stunned silence hung heavily in the room until Kurt laughed and banged over between us. "Congratulations you two! I'm so happy!"

Kurt's positive reaction sparked an uproar of applause and good praise. Soon congratulations we're being thrown around the room and I couldn't be happier.

"Oh Alex, tomorrow we can send out our save the dates," I informed him. "I already have the guest list made up. I already took care of it so you wouldn't have to."

Alex smiled and kissed my temple. "I'm so happy that I'm going to marry such an amazing girl."

"And I'm happy I get to marry such an incredible guy," I replied with an even bigger smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," Alex replied embracing me.

"I wan to propose a toast," a very excited LaToya exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. "To Mina and Alex!"

"To Mina and Alex!" the room echoed as everyone held up a glass.

The next night

Pietro came home after a long meeting with Fury and Hill and sat at the edge of the stairs to sift through the mail pile that the rest of the Brotherhood left carelessly on the floor.

"I swear I have to do everything myself," he grumbled as he went through the mail at super speed. "Junk, junk, junk, porn, junk, junk...hmm what's this?"

Two things caught Pietro's attention. The first one was a red envelope that had a gold seal on it. He quickly tore it open and read the invitation. Someone had invited them all to an all mutant gala to be held next Saturday. He tucked the invite in his pocket and went on to the other peculiar item in the mail pile. Pietro held the small stack of fancy cream colored envelopes secured with a lavender ribbon in his hands and eyed them suspiciously. The first envelope in the stack had his name neatly written on it in very familiar cursive. Pietro carefully removed his envelope from the stack and opened it. His entire world shattered as he slowly read the words.

"Mina is...getting married..."

A/N: How's that for a chapter? Looks like I'm getting my touch back. My goodness, Alex is one understanding guy. I almost didn't write them back together but I'm a sucker for the fluff. In the next chapter, we'll see some familiar faces in the X-Men universe and even get a few shocking secrets revealed. Don't forget to review this chapter!


	18. The Gala

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution...

A/N: Long time no see readers. I just received a new laptop so I can actually finish this story! And without further ado...I present the Gala. ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

The Gala

I spent the next few days planning for my upcoming nuptials. Calling for caterers, booking a band for the reception, reserving hotels for our honeymoon and so much more. I've been working nonstop to ensure that next month I have the perfect wedding. Of course the girls at the mansion have been helping as well. They seem more excited than I am to be planning this wedding. But before I could go into full out bridezilla mode, we had a special invitation sent to us. A very rich mutant activist, who was addressed as G.C in the invitation, had invited every resident of the mansion to a special all mutant gala that would be held next next Saturday. There was a very strict formal dress code enforced so that gave me and the girls a reason to go shopping. When we got to the mall the first place we hit was the food court because you can't shop on an empty stomach. Despite the tempting call of the plethora of junk food the mall had to offer I had opted for a healthier meal of a simple chicken salad, fruit and water.

LaToya sneered at my meal with clear disdain and said "That looks so...healthy. Usually you'd be chowing down on something greasy and smothered in cheese."

"Well, I figured it was time for a change of diet. I gotta keep slim if I plan to fit into my wedding dress," I replied.

"I still can't believe that you're getting married!" Kitty gushed.

"Neither can I," I admitted with a smile. Jean gave me a look and I knew exactly what she was going to say. "And I'm sure that I'm not rushing into it either. I love Alex and there's no one else I'd rather spend my life with."

"I'm just glad that I get to have Alex as a brother in law," LaToya voiced. "Much better than who you might have married."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I quipped with much more venom than intended. "Sure Pietro's a jerk but he would have made a decent husband. Too bad he kept screwing up."

"It sounds like I'm hearing a hint of uncertainty in your voice," Jean said.

I looked at Jean and played off her comment with a laugh. "There's no uncertainty in my voice. I'm certain that marrying Alex is what I want and I'm certain that I just spotted the dress I want." I pointed across the food court at a store where a mint colored gown was on display in the window. "What are we waiting for? Let's go before someone buys it!"

Jean still looked unconvinced at my nonchalant answer but got up from the table to follow me anyway. When we got to the store I asked one of the associates to get the dress I saw in my size and hurried to the dressing room to try it on. As I stripped my clothes off I stopped and I looked in the mirror at my stomach and placed a hand on it. It didn't look like it was growing at all. Aside from the swollen feet and occasional cravings I wouldn't even think that I was pregnant. I know it's too early to start showing but I was looking forward to having a baby bump. That way I knew this baby could actually see the light of day. I was really upset when I first found out I was pregnant but now I'm starting to get used to the idea. You could even say I'm a little excited about it. A knock at the door shook me out of my thoughts.

"Does it fit?!" my sister called through the door. "Hurry up! I want to see it!"

"Give me a sec!" I called back. I quickly pulled the dress on and fixed my hair before I exited the tiny room. "How do I look?"

I twirled in my dress and let them admire it before I stepped onto the platform in front of three mirrors to examine it myself. I loved the dress. The sleeves were long and flared at the ends, the dress was long enough to have a small train trail behind it and there was a v shaped plunge made of see through chiffon on the torso that dipped all the way down to my belly button. Unlike the dresses that I used to wear, the back was completely exposed on this one and I didn't mind one bit. I had learned to live with the stares and still wanted to show off my slim shape every chance I got before I got too big.

"Do we even need to tell you?" Amara questioned. "You know you look stunning!"

"I think we have a winner," Tabby added. "You better buy that dress."

"No need to threaten me!" I laughed as I threw my hands up in mock surrender. "I'll buy it!"

After I purchased my dress, I helped the rest of the girls pick out dresses for tonight. By the time we finished shopping it was only a few hours until the gala. We hurried back to the mansion to get ready for what we hoped would be an exciting night.

* * *

><p>Pietro lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His thoughts rushed faster than usual as he clutched that wedding invitation in his trembling hand. Every time Mina's face flashed through his head he felt a grip tighten on his heart. The only thing he could repeatedly mumble was "She's getting married". Wanda cracked the door open and peeked inside the room. She sighed at the state of her brother before fully opening the door and entering. She walked toward Pietro and as he looked up at her she grabbed the pillow out from under his head and hit him with it.<p>

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Pietro boomed as he quickly sat up.

"Stop moping! If you love her so much, get off your ass and do everything in your power too remind her that she loves you too!" Wanda said.

"It's not that simple, Wanda," Pietro replied. "She's getting married! Isn't it clear that she's made up her mind? It's not like I can do what I always do and make her jealous enough to-"

Pietro stopped in mid sentence when he saw that Wanda was giving him that infamous Maximoff smirk. "I guess my work here is done," she said before she left the room.

"Hmm, all I have to do is make her jealous and I'll know whether or not she really wants to marry him," Pietro thought aloud. "And I know just the perfect girl to make her jealous."

At the mansion

As I put the finishing touches on my makeup, Alex entered the room looking as handsome as always in a black tux. I had yet to put my dress on so there I sat in my underwear putting on black eyeliner. Alex crept up behind me and kissed my neck making me giggle and mess up the eyeliner I was applying.

"Babe, I love you and all but could you at least let me finish my makeup before you kiss me?"

"You already look beautiful enough," Alex said as he lightly stroked my back.

I shot him a smile and jokingly said "That's only because I'm half naked."

"Nope. I think you're gonna be beautiful whether you're naked, clothed, scarred or even old and wrinkly."

"What about when I start hiding watermelons under my shirt?" I asked as I gestured toward my stomach.

Alex bent down and placed a kiss on my stomach. "You'll still be perfect to me."

After a few minutes of kissing Alex finally let me finish getting ready and we made it downstairs in time to meet up with everyone else. Everyone looked so elegant and even Tabby made an attempt to not wear some poofy monstrosity. A knock came from the front door and Remy walked to answer it. To everyone's surprise everyone Pietro stood at the door wearing his usual smirk on his face.

"You got a lot of nerve showing your face around here," Alex sneered as he took my arm in a protective manner. "In case you haven't heard, Mina and I are getting married."

"I'm not here for her," he retorted. There seemed to be a kind of gripe in his voice the moment he looked at me.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm here for my date for the evening," he replied. He smiled as he looked the stairs. "And here she is."  
>I turned around to see Laura descending the stairs in a gorgeous off the shoulder full length black gown. I felt as if someone was tearing my insides apart as he kissed her hand and linked her arm in his.<p>

"When did this happen?" my brother demanded, visibly upset. He was planning on asking Laura to be her escort for the night but he chickened out at the last minute. As much as I hate Laura, I can see how happy she makes my brother and I value that more than anything.

"I called to ask if she would escort me and she agreed. And can I just say that it is truly my pleasure to be in the company of a such a breathtaking woman."

"Pietro, stop. You're embarrassing me," Laura shyly said as she nudged him. I could even make out the slightest tinge of a blush on her cheeks as she looked away from him.

"Well, I think that we should get going," I loudly announced as I began to pull Alex toward the door. "Wouldn't want to be late."

I could care less about being late, I just wanted to be out of that foyer. He knows how much I despise Laura so I know exactly what kind of game he's playing but I won't let him get to me that easily. After everyone gathered their belongings for the night we waited outside for the limos that were sent to pick us up and when they got to the mansion, we departed for the gala.

* * *

><p>G.C stood in front of a mirror securing his cufflinks when a guard walked into his office. He turned to adress the guard saying "Is everything in place for tonight?"<p>

"Sir, yes, sir!" the guard replied. "All the men are in place, the mutants are on their way and the Prowlers are on standby awaiting Trask's orders."

"Good," G.C smiled. "Tonight is going to be a ball."

* * *

><p>We arrived to a mansion even bigger than the institute and gawked in awe at how beautiful it was. There was a large statue of a woman that sat in the huge fountain, the windows were stained glass and the place lit up brighter than a Christmas tree in Times Square. Entering the mansion, servants directed us toward the ballroom where a large crowd of people already were. Against the wall was a buffet full of elegant finger food and hors d'oeuvres. A band was playing slow music, waiters walked around carrying silver trays of champagne glasses and as I made my way through the crowd of people I saw many familiar faces. Callisto and Danielle Moonstar were there along with Dorian Leach who was growing into a fine young man. I wasn't aware that there were so many mutants I hadn't met in Bayville but sure enough most of them were here tonight. I continued through the crowd until I felt a hand grip my shoulder. Instinctively, I grabbed the arm and twisted it around their back. I released the person when I recognized who it was.<p>

"Chelsea?" I said with wide eyes as I looked upon the face of a fellow former high school cheerleader. "Sorry about grabbing you. Sixteen years of training really sharpens our reflexes. Um...what are you doing here?"

"Well it's a mutant gala. What do you think I'm doing here?" she joked with a genuine smile. "Turns out you weren't the only mutant on the team back in high school."

I smiled before I realized something that upset me. "Wait...you were a mutant? And you ridiculed and ostracized me because I was one? I went through the last year and a half of high school being called a freak and all this time you were no better than me!"

"I know and I've waited years to apologize," Chelsea replied and she looked down at her feet. "I didn't find out until a couple months before graduation. I was terrified. My powers would spazz out all the times and I didn't know how to control them. That explains all those times I missed school for weeks at a time. If anyone knew I was a mutant I knew that I would be treated the same way you were treated."

"Why didn't you ever come to the institute for help?" I asked as I softened my hard gaze. "We could have helped you."

Chelsea shrugged her shoulders. "I was scared and wasn't ready to accept the fact that I had powers that were ruining my life. My boyfriend broke up with me, my parents barely speak to me and it's hard to find any hospital to treat me whenever I need medical attention. After all these years I know how it feels to be treated like there's something wrong with you. I just want to say that I'm sorry for the way I treated you and that I wish that I could take back every mean thing I ever said to you."

I looked deep into her eyes and sensed that she was being sincere. I sighed before I opened my arms for a hug. The two of us hugged as we parted I eyed her and said "So what can you do? Can I have a demonstration?"

Chelsea's eyes turned yellow and her pupils elongated vertically. Her skin gradually became scaly and turned a golden wheat color and as she opened her mouth fangs began to grow and her forked tongue flicked out at me. "I go by Slither now. I guess snake powers are fitting for me since I was such a bitch in high school. I can generate poison, have enhanced senses, strength and agility not to mention that if I were to fully transform I could constrict an elephant to death with my body."

"Hmm, I'm impressed," I chuckled, unphased by the drastic change in her appearance.

Just then Alex walked up to us and looked at Chelsea with uneasy eyes. "Uhh..."

"It's not polite to stare, honey," I said as I hit him in the arm. "Alex this is Chelsea, an old friend of mine. Chelsea, this is my fiance Alex who seems to have forgotten his manners."

"Fiance? You're getting married?" Chelsea squealed as she pulled me in for another hug. "But wait, what about Pietro? I always thought that you two would end up getting married. Aren't you two in love or something?"

Sadness washed over me before I brushed it off. "Not anymore. Pietro was my past. Alex is my present and my future." Alex smiled at me before he leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Now let's get you two properly acquainted over some food."

After I spent half the night laughing with Chelsea and Alex I excused myself outside for some fresh air. I stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the ocean and looked down. The mansion was built on a cliff side and as I looked down I saw the waves crash against the jagged rocks at its base. The cool, brisk, salty smelling air hit my face and I sighed deeply. What Chelsea said earlier about me and Pietro being in love was irking me. I knew that all of my feelings for Pietro had not completely disappeared but I sometimes feel like none of them _ever_ went away. Even now I know that I'm bothered by him just being here with Laura. And he was making it very obvious they were here together. He made it his goal for the night to stay within my sight the entire evening. Laughing and flirting with Laura, all in some childish attempt to make me jealous. The sad part is, it was actually working. Of all girls to make me jealous, why did it have to be her?

"Why do _I_ care about he does?" I wondered aloud with obvious anger in my voice.

"Because you're just like your aunt," a voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Magneto in a black suit with a red rose in the pocket. It's weird to see him in anything but his red and purple spandex suit and cape. "Vivian used to say the same thing about me."

"What do you want, Magneto?" I asked as I clenched a fist.

"Fresh air," he replied. "It's a free country and I can do something so innocent without feeling threatened can't I? And tonight, call me Erik."

"Fine, Erik," I spat. "What was that about my aunt?"

"Right, you are like a carbon copy of Vivian at your age," he said. "She would always try to figure out why she was so attracted to me when I caused her nothing but trouble. You seem to do the same with Pietro. And just like I did, he's making a mistake with the woman he knows he loves more than anything."

"Wow, that's probably the most sentimental thing you've ever said," I said in slight shock. "That's out of character for someone like you."

"Of course I still hate the very sight of you and would rather kill my son than watch him end up with an X-Man but sometimes I can be civil too," Erik said before promptly walked away.

"And there's the Erik I know and hate," I mumbled under my breath as I rolled my eyes.

I walked back inside after enjoying the breeze for a little while longer and found my table empty. I guess Chelsea had blended back into the crowd but I had no idea where Alex went. I shrugged my shoulders and sat alone at my table. Drumming my fingers on the table top, I scanned the room. I smiled as I saw Jean and Scott waltzing, Kitty dragging Lance toward the dance floor, Rogue and Remy sharing a kiss and Kurt and blushing up a storm as LaToya whispered something in his ear. My smile soon faded someone blocked my line of vision.

Pietro, who had been with Laura the entire night, adjusted his bow tie before he ran a hand through his hair and outstretched his hand. "I was looking around the room when I spotted this beautiful face from across the dance floor. I couldn't figure out why someone this gorgeous would be sitting here alone so I thought I could change that. May I have this dance?"

I wasn't going to be that easily swayed by his charm. "No, you may not," I stubbornly answered as I turned my nose up to him.

"Scared that Alex will throw a bitch fit?" Pietro playfully chided.

"No, I just don't want to dance with you," I insisted. "Go dance with Laura."

Pietro chuckled. "Am I detecting a hint of jealousy in your voice?"

"Why should I be jealous? I'm not jealous," I quickly defended. "I have no reason to be."

"If you dance with me, I'll go away," Pietro melodically said.

I eyed him up and down and slightly relaxed my stiff posture. "I-I really shouldn't. I promised Alex that I would stay away from you."

"Just one dance. For old times sake?" Pietro stretched his hand out once more and smiled softly. "And it doesn't seem like he's keeping a watchful eye on you at the moment." He jerked his head to the side and as I looked in that direction I saw Alex dancing with Lorna. It seemed that he was unaware of his surroundings and he had this look in his eye that reminded me of the way I used to look at Pietro.

At that moment, I slipped my hand into Pietro's and said "I never could say no to you."

Pietro led me out onto the ballroom floor and pulled me close. I placed one hand on his shoulder and slipped the other into his hand while he wrapped his free arm around my waist. We danced slowly and looked deeply into each others eyes. I found myself smiling as I remembered all of the times I lost myself in those beautiful cerulean eyes. Pietro smiled at me before he noticed that I started to tentatively avoid his gaze.

"So...," I began. "You're here with Laura..."

"Yeah," he answered as he nodded his head. "I needed a way to get your attention and what better way than coming with the girl you're most jealous of."

"I'm not jealous of her," I mumbled.

"Keep telling yourself that," he laughed. He looked down and took a deep breath before saying "So...you're getting married."

"Yeah," I answered the same way he had answered me. "I'm just a little surprised that you're not more upset about it."

Pietro stopped waltzing and looked back into my eyes. "Who says I'm not? I hate the thought of you marrying someone who isn't me. I always thought that it would be me in his place but...it's not." Pietro paused and took a deep breath. "I let the best thing that ever happened to me slip away and now I have to watch her marry someone else. Sure I'm an arrogant, pompous asshole, and I fully accept that because that's who I am and always will be, but my pride does allow me to at least say that losing you was my biggest blunder."

"Pietro, I-" I began before I sensed a crowd of minds rushing toward the ballroom. Suddenly all the doors in the ballroom shut and metal walls descended blocking every window and door. The waiters around us all ripped off their tuxedos to reveal black jumpsuits with red armbands.

"Oh no," I whispered as I instinctively clutched Pietro tighter. "This whole thing was a trap."

The men all brandished small guns from the holsters on their waists. Normally a regular gun wouldn't be that scary but the small green vials that were attached to them was enough to make me nauseous. The doors of the balcony opened and out walked Bolivar Trask and another man who I instantly knew was the mysterious G.C.

"Welcome mutants of Bayville. I'm your lovely host for this evening. My name is Graydon Creed and I'm here to exterminate you disgusting vermin."

"How exactly do you plan to exterminate us?" Logan demanded as he narrowed his eyes at Graydon.

"As you've noticed by now, each one of my guards are equipped with a gun," Graydon replied. "These guns are designed to neutralize your mutants powers for an indefinite period of time so it would be wise to not take any chances."

"You do realize that some of the worlds most powerful mutants are in this room right?" I retorted as I gathered water to make ice spikes that pointed at him. "What makes you think we won't stop you?"

Graydon snapped his fingers and guards began to grab a few people, myself included. Soon, the professor, Jean, Scott, Remy, Ororo, Wanda, Erik, Alex, Bobby and I were thrown against the wall on the far side of the room. Another set of guards were sent in, each carrying a collar...just like the one in my nightmares and just like the one Sinister put on Jean and I. Quickly thinking I took control of my guards mind and told him to put the collar on my neck but to not activate it. After the collars were secured on our necks Graydon smiled. "There. Every mutant at or above a class four has been neutralized. No need to neutralize the others. They'll never be able to stop me."

(Pietro, my collar isn't activated. Listen to me. If I can take out the guards on the ballroom floor, you can use the distraction to find a way to get these doors open.)

Pietro looked at me and gave me a smirk as confirmation. I closed my eyes and located all the Friends of Humanity guards. If I could send out one massive blast of psionic energy I could take them out in one fell swoop. After locating each one in the ballroom, I sent out the blast. Each guard simultaneously fell to the ground and I smiled. Seconds later, a gunshot rang out in the room and everything started to move in slow motion. I heard a muffled scream and muted gasps as I felt something make contact with my body. I looked at Pietro who had a look of pain and terror on his face and I followed his gaze to where the bullet was lodged in me. At that moment and with wide eyes I thought of only two words: the baby. I touched where the bullet had hit me and felt the warm, slick blood that was now slowly oozing from my stomach.

"That was very clever, Semina," Graydon said as I looked up at him. The pistol he shot me with was smoking and to my slight relief there was no green vial attached to it. Graydon looked more than content with himself as I noted the sinister smile on his face. "But not clever enough. Did you ever once stop to think that there would a punishment for anyone who tried to be a hero? Trask, release the prowlers. And somebody turn her collar on. Can't have her healing that wound."

I gasped in pain as I clutched my stomach that was now steadily streaming blood. The bright crimson red of it stuck out like a sore thumb on my mint colored dress. I tried my best to start healing my wound before Graydon could send in someone to turn my collar on. I had just started healing it when the metal door rose and a dozen Sentinel Prowlers strolled in. A guard rushed in after them and shoved me hard against the wall. He activated my collar and I was immediately shocked. The water dropped from my hand and I slumped to my knees clutching my stomach. I had stopped some of the bleeding but the bullet was still lodged inside if me and the bleeding was sure to start again. As I slipped onto my side on the ice cold marble floor, Alex scurried to my side.

"I'm sorry," I said as loud as I could as he cradled my head in his lap. "I-I had to do s-something."

"Shh, don't talk," he replied as he stroked my hair. "You're already too weak."

A tear slid down my cheek and I shakily whispered "What about the baby?"

"You and the baby are going to be fine."

'Baby?' Pietro thought as his face fell. He was paying close enough attention to read their lips and know what they were saying but now he wished he hadn't know what they were talking about. 'She's pregnant...'

I felt my eyelids get heavier as I felt the bleeding start again. I had sustained many painful injuries in the past but I had never been shot before. It was if the bullet was burning my insides and rupturing any organ it touched at the same time. Of course no pain compared to the thrashing I took at the mercy of Sabertooth but this was no picnic either.

"Oh, no, Mina. Stay with me." Alex ripped the sleeve off his suit jacket and tried to compress my wound. "Hold on a little while longer."

"I'm not gonna die, you big baby," I weakly joked. "But it hurts..."

"I guess we found the one injury you can't just shrug off," he tried to joke as tears welled in his brown eyes. "Hang in there for me. Everything will be fine."

I looked over at Pietro who was staring directly back at me. For a moment I seemed to stop feeling the pain because those aqua colored eyes of his were so comforting. When I looked in them I knew that everything was going to be alright. His eyes looked as if they were ready to cry at any moment. I softly smiled at him and he looked away and bit down on his lip. I could have sworn I saw the glint of a tear rolling down his cheek but I know there was no such thing there.

"Trask set those things to kill and then get some popcorn," Graydon chuckled darkly. "I'm looking forward to seeing the show."

Trask came up behind Graydon and wrapped his arm around his neck. He took the gun that was holstered on his waist and shoved the barrel against Graydon's temple.

"Track, what is the meaning of this? Let me go at once!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that...son," Trask said as his appearance began to shift. His hair turned a bright red, his skin turned blue and much to everyone's surprise there stood Mystique. No one has seen her since the day we beat Apocalypse and her reappearance at this time was very peculiar. She had flown under the radar, keeping quiet for years now and to all of a sudden resurface at this gala for no rhyme or reason seemed fishy. No doubt she was up to something.

"Mother? Did you say 'son'? " Kurt exclaimed. "Vhat is going on?!"

"What a pleasant surprise," Graydon sarcastically dribbled. "I haven't seen you since you abandoned me as a baby."

"Sounds like Mystique," LaToya spoke.

"Mystique who is zhis man?" Kurt demanded.

"Kurt, son, this man is your half brother," she replied.

"I'm related to you?" Kurt asked, clearly taken aback.

"I'm not too happy about that either," Graydon spat. "It's bad enough I have that savage beast Sabertooth as my father but knowing I'm related to some blue furred freak is even worse."

"Enough!" Mystique yelled. "I'm not here to here you whine about your family. I'm here to stop you from killing these mutants."

"Why would you help us Mystique?" Scott questioned. "Kindness was never one of your strong suits."

"The people in this room are going to be the deciding factors in the war that's coming and without them the mutants don't stand a chance against the humans. So Graydon, it would be best if you called off your prowlers or I'll be forced to make a move."

"Not a chance, Mystique," Graydon cackled as he pulled out a small remote from his blazer pocket and pressed the button. The Sentinel Prolwers suddenly went stiff and a beeping noise was then heard. "_Five minutes to detonation_."

"I'd hate to stick around but I have more important matters to attend to," Graydon cackled. He pulled out a device the size of a quarter and stuck it to Mystique's exposed forearm. The device shocked her, bringing Mystique to her knees, and forced her to release him. A rope ladder came crashing through the glass skylight of the ballroom and Graydon quickly stepped onto it. "Until next time."

"What?" "What is he doing?" "He can't leave us here!" "That sneak!" came the chorus of protest from the Friends of Humanity guards that were left behind.

"If you men intend to live, I suggest you remove our collars at once," Professor X calmly said as he turned to them.

"No way, man!" one of the guards refused.

"_Four minutes to detonation_."

"Care to rethink your decision?" the professor continued.

The guard looked conflicted before he finally gave into reason and caved. "Alright fine, we'll get them off!"

The moment my collar was removed I starting gathering water from the air. With a trembling hand, I placed my healing water on my stomach in the feeble hopes that I could heal myself in time. I felt the kind closing up but I still was very weak from the blood loss and the pain was still very prominent.

"Mina," Alex said as he kissed my forehead. "Mina, you're alright."

"For the most part. It won't matter that I healed myself if I blow up with everyone else," I said as I struggled to my feet.

"How are we gonna get out of here in time?" Kitty asked.

"Even if we get out of here in time, we can't get far enough to escape the blast," Ororo spoke.

"Then we go under," Scott said. "Anthony, make a tunnel."

"No can do," Anthony replied, shaking his head. "This cliff isn't stable enough to make a tunnel. I can't make one without caving the whole place in."

"_Three minutes until detonation_."

"We're running out of options, Scott,"Jean said with worry in her tone.

"There is one option," I spoke up. "It's risky but we don't have a choice. Pietro, take Ororo and go get the X-Jet and XM-Velocity. I'll give you a signal when the time comes and you just be ready for pickup. Bobby, we're gonna need a slide. A big one."

Bobby narrowed his eyes at me with unease. "And that slide is gonna lead _where_ exactly?"

"The ocean." Cries of protest came the moment the words left my mouth. The prowlers announced two minutes until detonation and I said "None of you have time to argue! Just trust me."

"Mina, you're too weak to-"

"I don't want to hear it, Alex!" I barked. "Weak or not, I have a job to do. Everyone outside now!"

After everyone piled outside, Bobby immediately got work on making a slide. I ripped my dress at the knees, kicked my heels off and cracked my knuckles.

"Jean, when we get down there get a shield over us," I told her. "Everyone down the slide!"

Instead of going down the slide, I took a free fall off the cliff and called upon my link to the ocean. A pillar shot up to catch me and I slipped underneath the ocean. I shifted the water around me to create a giant bubble and took a deep breath. The pain in my stomach made me wince and I bit my lip as I struggled to keep my concentration on maintaining the bubble. As each person landed in the ocean, I spread the bubble over to them. Soon enough everyone from the gala was in the bubble. A cacophonous series of booms were heard overhead and the sky lit up with a mix of copper and maroon hues.

"Jean, we're gonna need that shield now!" I yelled.

Jean put the shield over our heads and the flaming debris harmlessly bounced off of it and sank into the water surrounding the bubble.

"So what now?" Rogue asked.

"Let me take care of that," I said as I brought the bubble up to the surface. I dipped a finger in the water and froze an area large enough for everyone to stand on.

(Feel free to come get us at any time, Pietro,) I contacted.

(I'm already here.)

I looked up and saw the X-Jet and the XM-Velocity hovering above us.

"Right on schedule," I panted as I dropped to one knee, clutching my stomach. The pain was now overwhelming and I could no longer take it. "So it's cool if I pass out now right? Cool, I think I've earned it." And with that I blacked out.

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of a heart monitor and and the brightness of the florescent lights. I've pretty much gotten used to waking up like this, seeing as show I was in the med bay every other day. My aunt was right when she said I was reckless. It's a surprise that I'm alive at all. I seriously thought that my body would have given up on me by now. I felt a thumb lightly stroking my hand and looked at my bedside to see Alex there with a relieved smile on his face.<p>

"You have to stop pushing yourself so hard," he chuckled sadly. "I might end up losing you one of these days."

"I doubt it. From what I've seen, I'm pretty much invincible," I joked as I sat up. I instantly gripped my abdomen before I realized there wasn't any pain. I guess Hank had any pain I had heavily sedated.

"Nice to see you're awake, Semina," Hank said as he walked up to my bedside with a chart in hand. "Looks like your wound has healed nicely and you should be getting your strength back soon."

I gripped Alex's hand and gave him a distressed look. He knew what I was concerned about the moment he saw the terror in my eyes and gave my hand a squeeze. "Um, Hank? We need to know if the baby survived or not."

"Baby? What baby?" Hank asked with a very confused look. "According to your blood test you're not pregnant."

"I-I'm not?" I stammered in shock. "But my feet are swollen, I have cravings and I took a test and it came out positive. My period has been late for almost a month!"

"I assure you, you're not pregnant," Hank responded. "Sometimes home tests can give false positives due to a defective test or because the many chemicals that have infected your body caused the test to give a positive result. As for your period, it's simply too much stress on your life. The past couple of weeks have been very hard on your body and your delayed period and cravings are associated with all that stress you're under. Once things settle down your period should arrive. The swollen feet are merely a sign that you've been working on your feet too much. There's no cause for alarm or to assume that you're pregnant. You're just fine."

"Oh," was my only reply.

"Well that certainly clears up a lot of things," Alex said. "Hank, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with Mina alone."

Hank nodded and left without another word. A silence passed before Alex spoke up. "Are you okay? About you know, not being pregnant."

"To be honest I'm relieved. After what happened tonight I don't think it's a good idea to try to start having kids so soon. Friends of Humanity, Project: Wideawake, and Mister Sinister won't rest until they achieve their goals and I don't have time to have a baby slow me down. I know that sounds selfish but I need to think of what's best for all mutants not just for myself."

Alex cracked a smile which turned into a chuckle which turned into outright laughter. "I'm so happy you feel that way. Phew, I gotta say, I was terrified at the thought of becoming a father. Not that I don't want to have kids with you, it's just that we our whole lives ahead of us to pop out a couple Alex Jrs."

"Alex Jr?" I laughed. "I think we better let me name the kids, baby."

* * *

><p>After Hank cleared me, I went back to my own room. I permanently sleep in Alex's room now since we are engaged but I wanted to get a couple things before I headed back. I felt a small telepathic tug on my link and sighed. Walking to my balcony, I opened the doors and saw Pietro leaning on the rail. Our eyes met and I walked toward him until we were at arms length away from each. A breeze blew and I shivered. I was only in a nightgown and it was a little chilly.<p>

Pietro took off the cardigan he was wearing and draped it on my bare shoulders. "I, uh, came to check on you."

"I'm glad," I replied as I clutched the cardigan closer to my body. I closed my eyes and took in a breath of his cologne.

"Are you alright?" Pietro asked as he hesitantly reached for my stomach. He placed his hand flat on it and I saw him tense up. "Are you _both_ alright?"

My eyes widened. "How did you-?"

"I found out at the gala," Pietro replied. "After Graydon shot you. Did it survive?"

"Turns out I wasn't pregnant after all," I told him with a heavy sigh. "Hank told me that I'm going to have trouble conceiving after what happened..."

I touched Pietro's hand which still lay on my stomach and bit back a small sob. "It's funny. When he shot me in the stomach the only thing running through my mind was that I lost another child of yours."

"What do you mean of mine?" Pietro inquired.

"Vegas, Pietro," I chuckled. "There was a possibility that you-"

Pietro looked at the ground before he looked at me again. "Did you want me to be?"

I looked into his eyes and I knew he could see how vulnerable I was. "I can't answer that because...you already know the answer."

Pietro pulled me close and hugged me like he never wanted to let go. He rested a chin on the top of my head and spoke softly. "Is there anything I can say or do to make you not go through with this wedding?"

"No," I replied as I pulled myself away from him. "My mind is made up. I love Alex and by this time next month I'll be Semina Wilson-Summers." I felt a breeze of air and sighed deeply before I took off his cardigan and handed it to him. He turned to walk away but I caught his arm before he could take another step forward. "But just know that I still..."

"I know, Mina. I know." Pietro climbed down my balcony and sped off the mansion grounds leaving me with a heavy heart and an even heavier conscious.

A/N: How was that for a long awaited chapter? I'm trying my best to get these chapters out to you guys so I'm sorry if I keep you guys waiting too long.


	19. The Battle Draws Near

Disclaimer: Nope still don't own X-Men: Evolution. Man I wish though!

A/N: Wow, it's been over a year since I've updated. I just want to apologize to everyone following this story. I know I've kept a lot of you waiting but better late than never right? Don't worry I haven't abandoned this story so since I'm back ENJOY!

() =Telepathic conversations

""=Speaking

''=Thoughts

The Battle Draws Near

_The scenery was blood red and charcoal black. The smell of burned flesh, coppery blood and smoke invaded my nostrils. Giant thudding footsteps and explosions were heard all around. Fire surrounded me in all directions, there were ear shattering screams of pain echoing through the air and as I looked around I saw piles of dead bodies. One of those piles contained my fallen teammates and family. Atop the pile stood Bolivar Trask, cackling evilly. A hand grabbed my shoulder and veered around to see Pietro. I embraced him tightly and cried into his chest. There was a high pitched whir and the relieved smile on Pietro's face started to fall. I touched his back before I looked at my shaking hands and noticed the blood on them. Pietro dropped to his knees and I cradled him in my arms, struggling to keep myself together. I looked behind him and saw a Sentinel with smoke coming out of it's recently fired laser cannon. The last thing I remember was the same laser being pointed at me and Trask eerily saying "Goodbye mutie."_

I woke with a start as tears dripped from my eyes. Alex quickly sensed the movement in the bed and without a word he pulled me close and kissed my forehead. I clutched him tightly and sat there with him in stony silence. It was a few long moments before I spoke up.

"Our rehearsal dinner is today," I quietly said. "There's no time for you to worry about me. We should get dressed." I struggled from his arms and started for the bathroom but he caught my arm.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it at least?" Alex asked. My nightmares were becoming more frequent, more real as each night passed. The worse they got the more I didn't want to talk about it.

I smiled weakly. "It's not even worth talking about. Let's just start the day off on a positive note and look forward to out rehearsal dinner tonight."

Alex eyed me and knew that I was going to be adamant about talking about my nightmare and sighed heavily before releasing my arm. "Fine. You win."

After I showered and got dressed, I followed Alex downstairs for breakfast with the others. After breakfast I had to head out to run a few errands so I wouldn't have to do them right before the rehearsal dinner. As I grabbed a plate I began to pile it with scrambled eggs and bacon. As I laid the last strip down I had a sick sense of deja vu as I heard a boom which sent my hands to my head and my plate crashing to the ground.

"Semina, what's wrong?" Alex asked as he instantly flew to my side.

"Didn't you hear that? Didn't you hear that explosion?" I asked as my heart beat rapidly. I looked around the room at the faces that stared at me like I was losing my mind.

"It was the t.v Mina," Kitty explained as she gestured toward the movie playing on the screen. "Are you feeling alright? You see jumpy."

"Yeah, no, I-I'm fine," I sputtered trying to calm myself down. I looked down at the plate I broke and shook my head before I went to the kitchen closet to grab a broom. "Sorry about the plate, Ororo. I'll clean it up but I don't think I have much of an appetite anymore."

"I'll pour you some tea," Ororo offered as she stood to grab a teacup. "It should calm you down."

"That sounds great," I agreed as I finished sweeping up the plate and food. "Um, what movie are you guys watching?"

"War of the Worlds," Scott replied.

'Seems fitting since we're on the verge of a war ourselves,' I grimly thought. Ororo passed me my teacup. I shakily brought the cup to my lips and sipped the warm liquid as I kept my eyes glued to the t.v. As the alien tripods attacked the humans I felt as if I was there in the chaos. I smelled the smoke, I felt the shaking and for a split second the image on the screen changed from an alien tripod to a Sentinel. I felt something warm splash on my legs and looked down to see that I had been gripping my teacup so tightly that it shattered. Shards of glass were in my hand and on the floor and luckily none of them had pierced my skin.

"Semina, what is going on with you?" LaToya exclaimed in concern.

"I-I...," was all that could come out of my mouth. I was visibly shaking and everyone continued to stare at me and before long I felt the need to just run. "I need to go." I bolted out of the kitchen and headed toward the garage before anyone could stop me. I started my motorcycle and peeled out of the garage without a second thought. I didn't know where I was going but I had to go. Maybe a drive would clear my mind. After driving for a while on the highway, I had managed to calm down significantly. I felt my stomach tighten and realized that I never ate breakfast. The sign on the highway said that there was a diner coming up in a couple miles and I decided that a nice quiet breakfast alone would be just the thing I need right now. I parked my bike outside of Sonny's Diner and entered the small establishment. The smell of food was met with a growl of anticipation from my stomach. I picked a booth, sat down and a black haired waitress approached me.

"Welcome to Sonny's," she greeted. "Here's your menu and I'll be back to take your order in a little bit."

I thanked her and as she walked away to serve another customer I scanned the menu for something I liked. A couple minutes later, the waitress returned with a cup of coffee.

"Wait, I didn't order anything yet," I told her.

She pointed across the room and said "That woman in the suit over there asked that it be sent over to you."

I followed her hand and saw a woman in a gray suit with black hair and glasses. Next to her sat a woman with dark black glasses, short brown hair and a green sweater. I raised an eyebrow and said "Well then do you mind if I move over to sit with her? She's an...old friend of mine." When I moved over to the booth where the woman was sitting I gave the waitress my order and as she walked away I directed my attention to the woman.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello'?" the woman asked.

I found no amusement in her little game. "How did you find me, Mystique? And where have you been fro the past two years? After the Apocalypse fiasco you disappeared. What have you been doing?"

"That's not important," Mystique replied. "What is important is that you pay attention to what Destiny is going to tell you because I assure that it's something you need to hear."

Mystique was a lot of things; ruthless, selfish and virtually fearless but I could have sworn that in her eyes I saw just that: fear.

"I'm listening," I said, finally deciding to give her a chance. After what happened at the gala, there were a few questions that needed to be answered.

"I've seen a vision. A horrible vision filled with horrible things," Destiny began. "Trask and Mayor Kelly are making their move soon. A move that will begin the end of life as we know it. And there isn't much time left to stop them."

"What are they planning?" I inquired. "When are they gonna make their move?"

"I cannot determine when they will strike but hundreds of Sentinels are going to be released into the city," Destiny replied. "And soon. If the X-Men cannot stop the Sentinels then all hope will be lost."

"So what do you intend for me to do?" I asked. I quieted down as the waitress brought me a plate of pancakes, hash browns, bacon and sunny side up eggs. "And why come to me with this information?"

"Because you and I are a lot alike. You like to get your hands dirty and unlike the rest of the X-Men you don't mind conversing with people with opposite moral views," Mystique smirked. "What I want you to do is make sure that your team is ready. It's up to them to stop Trask." She pulled out a folder and slid it across the table to me. "This is all the information you'll need regarding your mission. By any means necessary you have to stop Project: Wideawake."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "And what the hell are you gonna be doing while we risk our lives to stop him?"

"That's none of your concern," Mystique hissed as she stood. "Now if you'll excuse me I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"More pressing than an impending war between the mutants and humans?" I scoffed.

"What I do is my business," Mystique curtly said before she helped Destiny out of the booth. "Just make sure you're ready." With that, Destiny and Mystique exited the diner.

"As if I didn't have enough shit on my plate," I grumbled to myself. "First the wedding plans now-" My eyes widened before I slapped a hand on my forehead. In my hasty departure from the mansion I had forgotten that I had to run errands before the rehearsal dinner tonight. I had to do a final check on the flowers for the bouquets and centerpieces, make a decision on the cake for the reception and meet the girls for the final fitting of my wedding dress. I waved the waitress over and asked her for the check after I quickly devoured my breakfast. I threw a couple bills on the table and bolted out of the diner. There wasn't much time before the rehearsal dinner so I had to get everything done as fast as possible. First stop: the florist.

At the florist

I walked around the table inspecting the centerpieces that were laid out for me. White hydrangeas and white orchids filled the centerpiece that sat before me. Fitting with the white and gold color scheme of my wedding there were golden ribbons tied around each flower and the flowers were placed in lovely rectangular crystal vases.

"This beautiful," I smiled. "They're going to look amazing on the tables at the reception. Is my bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets ready as well?"

"Yes they are, Ms. Wilson," the florist replied as she went to retrieve my bouquet and handed it to me. "It was strange of you to call last minute to get the flowers changed so close to your wedding day but I was able to-"

"What do you mean last minute change?" I questioned as I took the bouquet from her and sniffed the flowers." I never called to make a change." I felt a tickle in my nose and my eyes began to water. I dropped the bouquet and kicked it across the room. "Did you put daisies in my bouquet?!"

"Why, yes," the flustered florist sputtered. "That's what you asked for when you called last week."

"There must have been some kind of mistake because I never called you to make a change," I spoke between wheezes. "Just please change it back to how I originally asked."

"Of course. Are you okay?" she asked as she noticed my heavy breathing. As long as I didn't stay in the flower shop for much longer I wouldn't break out into hives.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just allergic to daises. But thank you so much for what you've done already," I gushed. I looked at my wrist and noticed I had about three hours left to pick a cake, get my dress and head back to the mansion. "Besides the bouquet, everything else is perfect."

After finalizing plans with the florist I zipped over to the bakery to pick out a wedding cake. Alex wanted me to have whatever I wanted so he let me have final say on the cake. How sweet of him. The smell of sugary desserts flooded my nose and made me smile. I'm telling you, the best part of planning a wedding is sitting around tasting cake.

"Ah, Ms. Wilson!" Antonio the baker exclaimed as I walked up to the counter. He rushed over to kiss my cheeks and said "Your sample cakes are all ready to be tasted."

"Point me toward the cake," I beamed as he escorted me to a table with three small plates on them. I was stuck between three flavors and today was the day I finally pick my favorite.

"First, we have the Strawberry Shortcake which is a french vanilla cake layered with strawberry mousse filling and topped with vanilla bean icing and fresh strawberries.

I took a bite and my eyes rolled to the back of my head as I savored the sweet strawberry mousse and moist vanilla cake. "Ugh, this is literally perfect."

"Well I only bake the best," Antonio smiled. "But there are still two more cakes. Here we have a chocolate cake with a butter cream filling drizzled in a coffee liqueur chocolate ganache sauce."

I took a forkful of the chocolate cake and moaned the moment all of that chocolate hit my taste buds. I could really taste the coffee liqueur and it really made the ganache sauce taste that much better.

"Last we have the red velvet cake layered with white chocolate mousse and topped with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate shavings."

This was by far the best red velvet cake I've ever tasted. I was now even more torn because I love red velvet cake but that strawberry shortcake still reigned supreme. "I've made up my mind. I'll take the strawberry shortcake!"

"An excellent choice!" Antonio raved as he hugged me. "I'll make the cake five tiered, drape it in golden accents and I give you my word that I will make it the most deliciously fabulous cake you've ever had."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," I beamed as I hugged him once more. "I can't wait to see it!"

After eating the rest of the sample cakes, my last stop of the day was to the bridal shop to make sure my wedding dress fit. I told the girls to meet me there and sure enough when I approached the shop there was my very excited bridal party. Of course my sister was my maid of honor which left Kitty, Rogue, Jean, Amara and Tabby as my bridesmaids. We exchanged greetings and waited for the associates to pull my dress. I wanted to feel like a princess for the day so I bought a giant white ballgown. The corseted top had a sweetheart neckline, the bodice was covered in shiny beads and the bottom was a huge and poofy with ruffled tule. It was every little girl's dream dress and I couldn't be happier to have it. When I first tried on the dress it was a little too snug around the chest and waist so I asked to have them let it out slightly. I just hoped that this time and wasn't too loose.

"The last fitting! Aren't you excited?!" Kitty exclaimed.

"I'm nervous," I truthfully told. "Not just for the dress but also because the wedding is tomorrow!" Time seemed to fly by quickly because I could have sworn that I had just gotten engaged a couple days ago. But a month had indeed passed and my big day was almost here.

"You're marrying the man of your dreams," LaToya said as she took my hand in hers. "You have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be perfect and you're gonna get your happy ending."

I looked at my sister and pulled her into a hug before saying "Aw, what the hell. Group hug!" and pulling everyone else into our little love fest.

The sales associate, Kate, walked in and said "Ms. Wilson, we have your dress ready for you. If you'll just come with me I'll help you get into your gown."

I followed the woman to the fitting room and after I stripped down I stepped into the ballgown while Kate zipped up my back.

"Alright turn around and tell me what you think," Kate smiled.

I took a deep breath, turned to face the mirror and froze. Tears welled up in my eyes and I choked back a sob. Everything fit the way it was meant to. The bodice hugged my torso and accentuated my curves while still looking beautiful and tasteful. The tule wasn't too heavy and the ruffles reminded me of the soft waves of the ocean on a calm day. It was...perfect. And that's when it finally hit me. I was getting married. "Oh my God. I look like a bride."

Kate suggested we go show everyone and opened the curtain of the dressing room to usher me back out to the girls who all gasped. Words of me looking "stunning" and "gorgeous" and "like a cute, fluffy cupcake" came from my bridal party. As Kate walked over and fixed a veil atop my head I let some tears fall down my cheek, turn to my friends and said "I'm ready to get married."

* * *

><p>The guests had all arrived, food was prepared and laid out on the table and everything was set to begin our rehearsal dinner. It was a semi formal dinner so I had dressed in a cream colored strapless dress that stopped just above the knee with a pair of matching heels. Alex wore a white button down with a blazer thrown over it and black dress pants and shoes. Before we sat for the dinner, it was customary for the couple-to-be to greet their guests. Of course everyone in my bridal party was there so naturally Alex's groomsmen, Scott, Kurt, Ray, Bobby, Remy and Lance were there as well. I didn't expect Lance to agree to be in the wedding because of his friendship with Pietro but thanks to some convincing from Kitty he finally accepted. Among the adults that attended the rehearsal dinner were the professor, Hank, Vivian, Ororo, Logan, Alex's parents, Joanna and Andrew, and the priest who was to officiate the ceremony. I had also taken the liberty to invite Chelsea and Wanda. Chelsea and I were becoming closer friends so naturally after the gala I sent her an invitation to the wedding and saved her a place at the rehearsal dinner. Although I invited all of them, I only wanted Wanda here because unlike the rest of the Brotherhood she knew how to behave herself in a formal setting. And as much thought as I put into it, I don't think I could have been able to diffuse any tension at this rehearsal if I had invited Pietro too. Two people who were also not here tonight were my parents. Not because they couldn't fly out from Virginia but because I hadn't invited them to the dinner or my wedding for that matter. They were the last people I wanted to see there and despite my brother and sister trying to persuade me otherwise, I refused to have them attend. This left the role of who would walk me down the aisle to the only man I saw fit for the job: Logan. He was taken aback by the request but agreed nonetheless. He may not have showed it but I knew he was happy to do it.<p>

After finally greeting everyone, we all took our seats and started the dinner. Alex clinked a spoon to his champagne flute and remained standing to address the guests. "I would like to thank you all for coming to this dinner. I'm sure my gorgeous fiance and I can both say that it means to the world to have all the people we care about in one room here to celebrate our upcoming nuptials. So let's drink, be merry and enjoy all the delicious food Ororo prepared."

The guests cheered and all eagerly dug into the meals set before them. Ororo prepared prime rib and lobster tail with a side of roasted red potatoes and green beans and a vegetarian pasta dish for Kitty. The night flowed without a hitch as we ate, laughed and exchanged stories. However, despite all the positivity in the air I wasn't as cheerful as the rest of the guests. I barely even touched my food! I had far too much on my mind to enjoy myself because I had gone through the file Mystique gave me and I couldn't believe it. I knew that Gyrich was funding Kelly and Trask to build anti-mutant weapons and Sentinels but I didn't know that they had the resources to build hundreds of Sentinels all of which were fully operational and ready to be launched at any minute. How did they go undetected for this long? At least the file has the location of Trask's facility and everything we would need to take him down. I was just worried we would be too late stopping them.

"Can I have your attention please?" Andrew said as he and his wife stood up. "We have a couple words to say to our son and soon to be daughter in law."

"I've always wanted a daughter and now that I'm getting the next best thing, I couldn't be more excited," Joanna grinned as she looked at me. "Semina is the sweetest..."

I plastered on a fake smile and looked in their direction as their speech droned on. As much as I tried to focus on their words, my mind was no longer on my wedding. All I could think about was Trask. I was planning on briefing the team about the information I acquired after the rehearsal dinner but something told me I would have to spill the beans now. I was sensing a distressed mind approaching fast and knew exactly who it was. I abruptly got up from the table in the middle of Joanna's sentence and ignored the bewildered cries of the guests. I went to the foyer and disabled the weapons system as the person headed toward the institute finally made it over the gate. Opening the door I ran out to the yard to find the director of the MRD limping as fast as she could toward me.

"What's going on?" I questioned as I tried to mask my panic. She was wounded. It looked as if she'd been shot at and there was blood dripping from her leg and arm. "What happened?"

"Mina, it's begun," she whispered before she collapsed into my arms.

A/N: A little short, very fluffy but what a lovely little cliffhanger. It's been a while since I've written for this story but give me time and I'll get my touch back. I do still plan on doing another sequel because I did promise you guys that. But for the time being REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


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